Anxiety and Panic Attacks - What Are They?
Anxiety attacks and panic attacks are actually the same thing, just different terminology.
In this article, I'll describe to you why panic attacks happen and what you can do to stop them.
What Is A Panic Attack? An attack is an intense period of sudden fear and usually accompanied by physical symptoms such as elevated heart rate and increased sweating.
Chest pains are not uncommon.
Many people who are having an attack feel a total loss of control and that they are going to die.
An attack typically lasts just a few minutes and then dissipates quickly.
What Happens In The Body During An Attack? An anxiety attack grows and peaks very quickly.
This is because there is a positive feedback loop going on inside the body.
As an example, someone may notice their heart skip a beat.
This is actually quite normal and can happen to any of us.
Many of us would not even notice or if we did, we would ignore it when we realize that our heart soon resumes its normal beat pattern.
But some people may see this as a sign of an impending heart attack and cannot get fear out of their mind.
When the body senses fear, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) kicks in and decides to release some adrenalin, raise your heart beat and make you sweat more.
All to help you because it thinks that you are under attack.
The same person would feel these symptoms and think that they really are having a heart attack and going to die.
Their increased fear only makes the SNS react again and their symptoms become worse.
Very quickly a loop forms and the person reaches a peak of fear and symptom intensity.
This is a full blown panic, or anxiety attack.
How Can It Be Treated? Unfortunately, drugs are not the answer.
Benzodiazepines are highly addictive and SSRI drugs do not completely defeat panic attacks.
The best course of action is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT.
This is a form of therapy where you look objectively at your though processes during an attack and are able to stop an attack at an early stage, well before it has a chance to spiral out of control.
CBT has a high success rate and most doctors will advise it.
It can be done in a therapist-led session or at home using self-help guides.
In this article, I'll describe to you why panic attacks happen and what you can do to stop them.
What Is A Panic Attack? An attack is an intense period of sudden fear and usually accompanied by physical symptoms such as elevated heart rate and increased sweating.
Chest pains are not uncommon.
Many people who are having an attack feel a total loss of control and that they are going to die.
An attack typically lasts just a few minutes and then dissipates quickly.
What Happens In The Body During An Attack? An anxiety attack grows and peaks very quickly.
This is because there is a positive feedback loop going on inside the body.
As an example, someone may notice their heart skip a beat.
This is actually quite normal and can happen to any of us.
Many of us would not even notice or if we did, we would ignore it when we realize that our heart soon resumes its normal beat pattern.
But some people may see this as a sign of an impending heart attack and cannot get fear out of their mind.
When the body senses fear, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) kicks in and decides to release some adrenalin, raise your heart beat and make you sweat more.
All to help you because it thinks that you are under attack.
The same person would feel these symptoms and think that they really are having a heart attack and going to die.
Their increased fear only makes the SNS react again and their symptoms become worse.
Very quickly a loop forms and the person reaches a peak of fear and symptom intensity.
This is a full blown panic, or anxiety attack.
How Can It Be Treated? Unfortunately, drugs are not the answer.
Benzodiazepines are highly addictive and SSRI drugs do not completely defeat panic attacks.
The best course of action is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT.
This is a form of therapy where you look objectively at your though processes during an attack and are able to stop an attack at an early stage, well before it has a chance to spiral out of control.
CBT has a high success rate and most doctors will advise it.
It can be done in a therapist-led session or at home using self-help guides.