Panic Attack Help

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Medical disorders as well as psychological disorders are responsible for panic attacks on humans. Panic attacks caused due to medical disorders depend on the way the person handles anxiety in him. Medical disorders might also disturb a body with its effects that you might not have had a problem handling earlier. Panic attacks become harder and tougher to treat because of a few medical disorders.

Most of the doctors advise for a blood test when you are struck with a panic attack or just its symptoms. There are a lot of medical reasons why panic attacks happen quite often. Blood test happens to be the simplest and the cheapest way to find out the loop hole in these panic attacks on the body. Doctors are afraid many of these panic attacks might just mask the medical disorders as these are liable to become worse without even a treatment.

A thyroid disorder test is a must when it comes to testing for a medical caused panic attack. The doctor’s advices a thyroid disorder test immediately as it is known to cause irritability, anxiety and a few other psychological symptoms. These symptoms could be quite dangerous as they can build up to something more serious. A blood test is sufficient to test your thyroid disorder.

An example of a medical cause is sleep disorder. A good night’s sleep can lead from anxiety and frustration to panic attacks. Hence, it is very essential that good sleep is always encouraged and got. Everyone knows the importance of a good sleep and what it can do if you are deprived of it. Frustration and anxiety lead up to panic attacks when you are deprived of some good and healthy sleep. A sleep disorder check can confirm your panic attacks and help you solve them comfortably.

IBS or the Irritable Bowel Syndrome is when you are either having a chronic diarrhea or unable to have proper bowel movement. Uncontrollable diarrhea is a hindrance when it happens in public places where you have to keep excusing yourself. It might be embarrassing to keep going to the restroom if you are in school or a work. Frustration and irritation starts to creep when you have to keep visiting the restroom often especially when you are driving or in an important meeting. This begins to get big on you sometimes leading to anxiety and worry. Panic attacks follow soon, much to the misery of the person. You will feel better and confident if you could open up your problem with IBS and get a proper treatment for yourself. You can, thus, prevent visiting the restroom too often and hence alleviate he anxiety level and also a panic attack.

Heart conditions also can contribute to a medical cause which leads to panic attacks. The conditions in the heart can increase the possibility to cause the panic attacks. Heart rate, palpitations and tightening sensation in the chest are a few indications of a heart condition causing panic attack. This, in turn, causes more anxiety and invites more trouble, nonetheless. It is very important that you share all your problems with your doctor as he is the only one who could understand everything about it. Doctors can provide you the right medicine and medication to help you fight your panic attacks and get rid of them as soon as possible. Apart from all these, there could be a lot more symptoms regarding these panic attacks. One should ensure that these are noted properly and reported to the doctor without any delay. Symptoms of fear and panic can come in any form to a person anytime; hence it is advisable to get treated as soon as possible.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/panic-attacks-the-medical-reasons-behind-it-709352.html

The process of using interpersonal therapy to treat panic disorders is one of learning how to interact with and relate to other people in a situation that makes you comfortable. Most people with social panic disorders have issues regarding their self-image and individuality. Most often these manifest as a tendency to avoid confrontations and play a submissive role, even when it make them unhappy to do so. The “nice guy” who always does anything his social group asks of him as a “favor” is a classic example of this behavior. Even if he really doesn’t want to run the errand, he is afraid of being rejected and begins to panic just thinking about it, and so does what was asked of him.

The practice of interpersonal therapy to treat panic disorders is common nowadays. The most important thing is to teach the person to be more assertive and express their true needs and feelings in a comfortable way. Always being submissive to others wants can easily lead to a loss of self-esteem and depression as you see your own worth and needs as being less than those around you.

There are ways to be assertive without being aggressive, fortunately. Learning to be assertive means learning to place your own needs above those of others. It means learning to say “No” without having a panic attack. Aggressive behavior tends to result from a lack of assertiveness, which causes the aggressive person to lash out at those around them. But most of the time, people who aren’t assertive simply let everyone around them have their way, regardless of their own feelings on what they want.

When going into interpersonal therapy to treat panic disorders, a lot of time is spent discovering how to express oneself verbally. You must learn to choose words that do not attack, manipulate, or belittle the other person. Part of the process is learning to tell people when you don’t want to do something. It is also necessary to learn when it is appropriate to assert your wants over others wants, how and when to say no, and generally just learning to communicate more effectively overall.

Another important part of interpersonal therapy is the time spent learning how to use neutral body language to maintain your non-submissive status without using aggressive body language. For instance, looking the other person in the eye when telling them something can mean the difference between being submissive and not submissive. You will be amazed at how much different your use of body language can make both you and others feel about you.

Most panic attacks are caused by panic disorders, which are in turn caused by ongoing anxiety. If you are the type of person that always gives in, is always submissive, then you are probably living in a state of constant anxiety that you will be asked to do something you really don’t want to do. This can easily lead to simply isolating oneself from the group, in an attempt to avoid those situations. This is not good for you, and can lead to depression in addition to the panic and anxiety disorders.

The most important thing you can learn by going through interpersonal therapy to treat your panic disorder is simply that you have the right to your own feelings. No person can force you to do something that you don’t want to. If you think that this article describes you, visit your doctor for a referral to an interpersonal therapist. You will never regret it.

Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/interpersonal-therapy-proven-way-to-chase-panic-attacks-709326.html

There are many people in the world who suffer from some form of anxiety and for these people these anxiety attacks may be mild or they could be very severe. While there are many ways of treating anxiety attacks, it’s first important to identify what your anxiety attack symptoms are.

There are the physical symptoms of anxiety attacks that manifest themselves in the form of headaches, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, tingling, pale complexion, numbness, difficulty in breathing, and sensations of tightness in the chest, neck, shoulders and or hands. These reactions are the body’s fight-or-flight reaction which involves the hormones, muscles and the heart.

The behavioral anxiety attack symptoms include pacing, trembling, general restlessness, hyperventilation, pressured speech, wringing of the hands, and even finger tapping. Then the cognitive anxiety attack symptoms include recurrent or obsessive thoughts, feelings of doom, and morbid thoughts of death, confusion or the inability to concentrate.

The emotional anxiety attack symptoms can include feelings of tension or nervousness, feeling agitated, overwrought, and feelings of unreality, panic, or even terror. Then there are also the anxiety attack symptoms where the person’s brain puts up a defense mechanism against the anxiety attacks.

Feelings of depression can also occur because of this excessive stress that we need to cope with. While there are therapies and medications that can deal with full blown anxiety disorders, you might want to practice a few techniques for coping with anxiety and stress.

These psychological defenses include repressing anxious thoughts or ideas out of the conscious awareness. Another anxiety attack symptom is where the sufferer will transfer the source of their anxiety to an object or an event. Phobias are an example of this anxiety attack transference. Then there are the times that a person who suffers from anxiety attacks will rationalize their anxious feelings by claiming that ordinary people would feel the same way were they placed in the exact situation.

The other method that the brain will use as a defense against anxiety attacks manifests itself in the form of physical complaints and illnesses. In this case the anxiety attack symptoms involve recurrent headaches, an upset stomach, and muscle and joint pains.

Delusions are one other way of the brain trying to defend the sufferer from the anxiety attacks. For these anxiety attack symptoms the person can formulate conspiracy theories or other similar scenarios. This gives the person an emotional outlet for their feelings of anxiety.

It doesn’t really matter what form these symptoms show themselves in. What’s really important is once you identify that these are signs of anxiety attacks that you seek and receive help and treatment for this condition. By catching these anxiety attack symptoms early you have a chance to stop it progressing to a more severe condition like agoraphobia where you may become housebound due to your excessive anxiety attacks. So don’t delay if you feel that you suffer from anxiety attack symptoms, go see a qualified medical practitioner as soon as possible and get the proper help.

Dtm
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/-anxiety-attack-symptoms-60340.html

Picture yourself in a supermarket line waiting to pay for your groceries and suddenly feeling a little dizzy, short of breath, and tingling in your hands.  You start thinking to yourself, “Oh, I must be having a heart attack,” so you drop what you’re doing and ask someone to help you.

Moments later, as you lay on the floor, the local fire rescue has responded and is treating you for something that afflicts roughly 2 percent of the American population every year - a panic attack. 

Panic attacks happen suddenly, without warning, and people who suffer from them report an overwhelming  feeling of impending doom.  First time sufferers usually end up feeling confused after their first episode while shaking their heads, asking themselves, “What are panic attacks, and why is this happening to me?”  

Medical experts are unable to pinpoint exactly why people suffer from panic attacks but they do know it is a result of some form of high stress, it tends to “run in the family,” and people with certain physical problems and medical conditions are more likely to suffer from panic attacks than others.

Excessive alcohol and smoking have also been known to be contributors to people suffering panic attacks.

Panic attacks usually last a few minutes and some people who suffer from them actually have the ability to get through them with minimal discomfort by recognizing them as they develop and simply “riding them out.”

A person who suffers one or two panic attacks should follow up with a physician to rule out other possibly serious health issues; this will quickly set them on the right path to recovery by ruling out any serious medical condition.

Orlando Gutierrez
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/help-for-those-who-ask-what-are-panic-attacks-727212.html

If you have had the misfortune to suffer from a panic attack you know what a truly terrifying experience it is.

Suddenly and without warning you start to feel dizzy or light-headed, you can’t seem to catch your breath, your body starts trembling or shaking and most frightening of all your heart starts to race and you can literally feel it pounding in your chest as if it is about to explode. Your mind screams: Help! I must be having a heart attack!

The first time I suffered a panic attack, I felt sure I was either having a heart attack or about to have one, and took myself off to the local hospital. Oddly, even as I was on my way to the emergency room I felt the symptoms decrease, until by the time the doctors saw me I was feeling much better. Later I was told that this is one of the ways you can tell whether it’s a panic attack or heart attack. Panic attacks symptons generally decrease in a short time, whereas heart attack symptoms generally increase or stay at the same level.

After that first panic attack, I learned that my feelings and thoughts produced the physical symptoms, which in turn fed the feelings and thoughts of panic and terror. Which is why, as I was on my way to the emergency room, the focus of my thoughts naturally moved from how terryfing the symptoms were, to thinking about how much better I would feel at the hospital were I could receive help. I literally stopped myself from being panicked by the panic itself.

Panic attacks usually lasts less than ten minutes, although some of the symtoms may last longer. As soon as you feel yourself in a spiral from anxiety to sheer panic, try and focus on your breathing, and think about how you are feeling. Remind yourself that the actual fear of a panic attack feeds on itself like a raging fire, and that this fire will quickly burn itself out. Fortunately, despite their frightening nature, be reassured that panic attacks themselves do not lead to heart attacks, loss of control, mental illness or death.

A panic attack is a mental thought process that produces the physical symptoms, whereas a heart attack produces physical symptoms that leads to the mental thought process of panic.

Quite simply, you panic first, and the panic attack itself produces the symptoms that make you think you’re having a heart attack. Conversely, you have the physical symtoms of a heart attack, which then produces the worry that makes you get to the hospital.

So in answer to the question, is it a panic attack or is it a heart attack, simply try and ask yourself what came first: the mental panic or the physical pain?

If you have suffered a panic attack, please either get yourself to a hospital or see your doctor to rule out any physical problems. Panic attacks and generalized anxiety are very common and are treatable a variety of ways, but you should be diagnosed by a professional before embarking on any treatment.

John Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/how-to-stop-panic-attacks-697910.html

HOW TO MANAGE ANXIETY, CONTROL FEAR, OVERCOME FRIGHT, PANIC, WORRY

(Based on author’s site www.geocities.com/frnxty)

Fear, anxiety are controllable. Panic, worry, fright can be rid of. Knowing what are, how work, fear, anxiety, helps solve problems, control fear and anxiety.

Anxiety and fear causes crisis. One must understand fear and anxiety, how fear and anxiety work, to control anxiety, manage fear. Can be overcome anxiety and fear.

Managing fear, overcoming anxiety can be without expensive books, courses. Overcoming children’s fears, anxieties, controlling, managing adult fear and anxiety is possible. Here is, whether in child or adult, how to control, manage, overcome fear and anxiety.

Fear and anxiety, being afraid and anxious, begin when we are, or feel, vulnerable. We experience uneasiness and concern which frightens, makes fearful. This causes timidity, and timidity gives rise to a state of alarm which sometimes involves such hesitation that shrinks us from dealing with a matter or situation that needs to be resolved. The pain and emotion, the tension and stress of fear and anxiety is accompanied by a feeling of helplessness which is negative thought which so affects the functioning of the nervous system in dealing with fear and anxiety.

Fright, fear, anxiety, can cause crises, neurosis; the dread, terror, horror of phobia is fear. Worrying, most worries, are fear; but, often, we can’t cope with worry. Positive thinking helps but is not coping with fear, controlling fear, dealing with worry; to control fear, anxiety, we must know how fear and anxiety work.

Fear and anxiety effect automatically. Our autonomic nervous system regulates how body organs work. Chiefly a part of the autonomic nervous system, called ’sympathetic’, automatically interacts with our mind when we worry, experience anxiety, fear.

When fear is felt the mind signals a threat, danger, or emergency physically (e.g. a hand raised in anger) or psychologically (e.g. distrust); the sympathetic nervous system immediately comes into action to help protect or defend ourselves to our best possible advantage. Suddenly automatically we breath more oxygen which, with cyclic biochemical reactions, energises our ‘electron transport chain’ and synthesises with other substances in our body, upon that fear signal. This synthesising upon that fear signal urgently turns on electrical impulses which fire from cell to cell at very high speeds communicating that fear to the control centre in the brain.

In our fear and anxiety, the brain instantly issues commands to the organs to take action. Our organs immediately divert and concentrate energies from other organs to those relevant to our fear and anxiety. The pupils of our eyes grow bigger to see better, the blood vessels expand to more and faster supply, to enable our muscles to react. In aid of that the body produces adrenaline to enhance alertness and our actions for ‘flight’ or ‘fight’, as our values dictate, and as we feel directed by our fear, anxiety.

Anxiety and fear are not cured by medication. Drugs only help coping with worry; only help cope with fear or anxiety. It is generally agreed by expert that if we know how to, we can better control fear, manage anxiety. Panic confuses and causes worry; but, except for phobias (when one must consult a doctor), it isn’t complicated to manage fear, control anxiety.

Adult fear and anxiety is mostly due to problems; e.g., worry over debt, disapproval, separation, failure.

Children have no adult problems; child fear or anxiety is feeling inadequate about the frightening unknown.

Adults cope with both, whether it is fear or anxiety arising from adult problems or child fear and anxiety over inability to protect or defend as adults can.

In child fear control, managing child fear and anxiety it often suffices to ensure an “I am protected” feeling for the child. A child’s fear, e.g., of the dark is over anxiety that something may go wrong or be hurtful; e.g. a dim light helps ease that fear, anxiety, but the child needs assurance that you are nearby and can protect from or defend against what is causing the child’s fear and anxiety. If fear of the unknown is, e.g., anxiety over a new environment, accompany the child until it is realised that there is nothing to fear.

In adults fear and anxiety does not go away because of their being fear and anxiety with good reason. Adult fear and anxiety involve not unreasonable worry but possible significant consequences. But an adult can control worry, even overcome fear, anxiety.

Coping with, overcoming fear and anxiety begins with realising that problems are solvable, consequences avoidable. This enables to cope with fear and anxiety.

Adults suffer fear and anxiety for two reasons. They do not know how to solve the problem; and, it never occurs to most to find out because panic causes confusion. Panic prevents rational thinking, they can not think how to, e.g., reason arguments, acceptably put a hurt right; they, e.g., forget or never find out that an offer to pay by instalments may not be lawfully refused. The problem seems unsolvable, panic becomes fear, anxiety; worry makes fear worse.

Anxiety and fear often result from failure to clearly identify the problem. That is the cause of panic, a problem’s becoming worse, of the fear and anxiety.

Problem solving involves rational though, and that necessitates calmness. If angry, do ‘count to ten’.

Avoiding panic is avoiding fear and anxiety. If feeling panicky, take a deep breath: inhale, hold it to the count of three, exhale slowly; this is regarded as regulating oxygen intake and avoiding the above-mentioned body functions and chemical reactions which substitute to normal body and mind functions the limited, concentrated, emergency, urgent functioning. You will feel less urgency, less rushed, less panicky and less likely to suffer fear and anxiety.

Similarly easy it becomes then to replace the reduced likelihood of fear, anxiety with rational thought. One only needs to know how to do so.

One cannot apply rational thought to a problem if one is confused. The panic was due to not knowing what to do, confusion. One needs to clear one’s head in order to think and substitute to avoided panic, and reduced fear and anxiety, rational thought.

One’s bodily functions and mental functions interact. Adrenaline enhances what the brain signals. If it signals an emergency, it enhances urgency; if it signals calm though, then it enhances that. This is the basis of ‘positive thinking’. Such automatic biological, electrochemical, functioning of the nervous system enhances mental functions, confusion is rid of. Then can be clearly seen the problem and properly explored the ways of solving it without panic worsening it, causing fear and anxiety.

Then you can identify your fear. What is it that you fear, why? What part or parts of the problem is it that is causing you the worry, the anxiety, the fear? Think of what exactly it is you fear, are afraid of. ‘Know your enemy’ to easier mange anxiety, overcome fear.

One can learn to control one’s fear and, in the verses of Orhan Seyfi Ari in his Mystic Man (translated), one can enjoy the feeling that…

“Neither anxiety has he, nor fear,

The World’s like a rubber ball under his feet rather,

The Sun in one hand, and the Moon in the other.”

Calmness helps solution, managing fear and anxiety.

The author has a website at: http://www.geocities.com/eoa_uk

Eren
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/managing-fear-anxiety-overcoming-fright-panic-worry-149422.html

Firstly, what is a panic attack? A commonly accepted definition of a panic attack is ‘an exaggeration of the body’s normal response to fear, stress or excitement’. 20% of the adult population have experienced a panic attack which if left untreated can become a more regular occurrence. Some people have one or two panic attacks and never experience another while others have attacks once a month or several times each week. Even the fear of anticipating the next attack can be quite overwhelming for most people.

Typical signs of a panic attack area pounding heart, profuse sweating, higher sensory alertness and thoughts racing through the head which can be brought on without warning during any daily activity. Other symptoms include a tingling sensation in the limbs and a feeling of faintness. All of these sensations are brought on by adrenalin flooding the body in response to a potentially threatening situation. Some people can get so panicked that they will admit themselves to the emergency room in the mistaken belief that they’re having a full blown cardiac arrest. In fact twenty five per cent of those people who are admitted to hospital for chest pains are experiencing panic attacks and not heart attacks. Panic attacks can come on very quickly and usually last for between five and 20 minutes.

One of the causes of panic attacks is chronic stress which can be caused by financial worries, loss of a job, or perhaps a divorce, but more generally through unresolved emotional issues. People can have a full blown panic attack because they have grown up with some type of emotional trauma which they have repressed and never really dealt with. The situation can be exasperated through lack of sleep and the use of drugs, nicotine and alcohol or a poor diet which is high in sugar and caffeine which can all contribute to feelings of anxiety.

Psychotherapy can also be just as important in treating panic disorders as medication. Mental therapy helps establish the irrational fears which can then be addressed with relaxation techniques. A combination of both medical and psychological treatment can ease anxiety and prevent panic attacks, together with proper lifestyle choices.

Panic attacks can affect both men and woman, but women are much more likely to seek help whereas men typically tend to internalize anxiety and stress and may even turn to alcohol in order feel more relaxed. Use of alcohol is not a long term effective treatment and can even lead to alcoholism.

If you do experience a panic attack the first thing to concentrate on is your breathing. When we’re anxious we tend to breathe more shallow which in turn leads to increase in heart rate. You should take deep breaths and try to relax. Longer term treatment should include therapy, medication and a healthier lifestyle. Follow the basics of self care with exercise and diet, and surround yourself with a support network that you can talk and discuss any issues, so that you don’t have to live in fear.

Hugo Davenport
http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/dealing-with-panic-attacks-692651.html