You feel sometimes, as if going crazy,losing control? Or do you have a feeling that a heart attack is about to begin? Or maybe someone from your family told you that you are likely to have some serious mental disorder? Relax and do not worry: most likely, you are just experiencing panic attacks. To understand your status, and even more to learn how to get rid of these very panic attacks, you must first understand what it is in general and what these attacks have symptoms.

What is panic attack

Panic attacks can be defined as episodessudden intense fear, the most acute phase of which lasts for one minute. And the attacks of panic attacks themselves can last from a few seconds to half an hour. Sometimes there is a cyclic sequence of successive attacks that last for several hours. Fear, often bordering on horror, is usually accompanied by unpleasant bodily sensations, difficulty of thinking and a feeling of impending catastrophe, which can be expressed in words: "Something terrible happens to me!", "I am in great danger". Often the expectation of attacks is often agonizing, if a person has already experienced them earlier and understands that the panic will return to him. Some of the panic attacks are completely unexpected, as if they come from nowhere, and some occur regularly, provoked precisely by their expectation. Experiencing panic attacks say that this is the most intense feeling that has become the most unpleasant experience in their life, and getting rid of attacks would be for them the most coveted event.

How to recognize a panic attack and what are its symptoms

People who suffer from attacks of panic attacks, more oftenall complain of very strong fear and the feeling that they are dying, or go crazy, or have a heart attack. They feel strong weakness or nausea, shortness of breath, lose control. All these sensations can cause a strong desire to escape, leave the place where the attack began, as if it could save them from danger. Factors that cause attacks, there may be many, but each time they begin suddenly; it can never be said beforehand that a person will panic. The disorder itself can be of two kinds: spontaneous attacks and situational ones. Spontaneous panic attacks are usually not associated with any specific irritants and can begin even during sleep or a quiet, relaxed rest. The onset of situational attacks provokes, as one can understand from the title, certain things or situations in which a person has previously experienced intense fear. Here are the general symptoms that a person experiences in one combination or another when panic attacks occur:

• Strong and rapid heart rate;
• Sweating;
• Shiver;
• Hot flashes or chills;
• Shortness of breath or a feeling of lack of air;
• Pain or discomfort in the chest;
• Feeling of suffocation;
• Vomiting;
• Stomach upset;
• Dizziness;
• Tingling or numbness in the limbs;
• Dry mouth;
• Headache;
• The feeling of unreality of what is happening, the feeling of separation of a person from himself.

Symptoms that people experience duringpanic attacks, cause them associated fears. They do not understand that the whole of the blame itself is panic attacks; one of them is frightened that it will lose control over itself, and to someone it seems that now it will faint, cease to be guided by reality or die from a heart attack. How to cope with these fears? The threat of losing control of yourself During a panic attack, people often feel that they are out of their control. They are afraid that they will lose control of the physiological functions of their bodies and this will lead to all kinds of trouble, or that they will lose control over their actions. Most of all they are afraid that this can happen to them in the presence of other people, in some public place, forcing them to become deeply embarrassed. If you, too, are seized with such a fear, then try to relax and not let the symptoms of a panic attack go so far. It's just your conviction, which is born in the depths of your consciousness. In fact, the impact of panic attacks can not extend to your ability to self-control. On the part may not even be noticeable that you are experiencing such serious discomfort, and if the panic has caught you in a public place, the people around you will not even notice anything. Be sure - you will not scream or jump when you are at a meeting, and do not rush into the car when you are walking down the street. If there is even a slight uncomfortable situation, learn to say to yourself: "So what? Think what nonsense! "Be lenient and kind to yourself. The more you turn to face your fears, the less pressure you will have on yourself. And the more chances are that you will be able to get rid of panic attacks. The threat of losing consciousness Because of dizziness and a feeling of lack of air during a panic, you may feel fear that you lose consciousness. You are afraid that you will be especially vulnerable at this moment, especially if there is nobody near you. The fear of fainting and never recovering again gives rise to terrible feelings. In addition, if you are among strangers, for example, on the street or in transport, you may also worry because you will be stolen or lose important documents. You should understand that usually syncope is caused by insufficient intake of blood into the brain, and with it oxygen. But during panic attacks, heart palpitations always begin, and this causes the blood to pulsate much more quickly. Therefore, the brain receives a sufficient amount of oxygen. A dizziness during a panic attack is caused by rapid breathing, which in itself can not cause a syncope. Realizing this, you will begin to get rid of the fear of losing consciousness. The Threat of a Heart Attack This is another common fear that is common to many people, even those who do not experience panic attacks. And those who suffer from this disorder are prone to fear of a heart attack especially often. Such people are afraid that their heart depends on the indicated disorder, and in a critical situation it will give a serious failure. To get rid of this fear, you need to understand what heart attacks are different from panic attacks. Symptoms of a heart attack include shortness of breath and severe chest pain, sometimes accompanied by palpitations and / or loss of consciousness. Such symptoms in a person with a sick heart are amplified by physical activity. The higher the load, the more pronounced the symptoms. And at rest, discomfort in the heart disappears. During panic attacks, such symptoms also occur in a state of rest, and they disappear only when a person ceases to experience fear. In addition, heart disease causes some changes in the electrical impulses of the heart, which are visible on the electrocardiogram, while during a panic attack the cardiogram shows only an increase in the heart rate. People who are prone to panic attacks, too often completely unreasonably worry about their heart. They become too vigilant and begin to listen constantly to sensations in the chest, constantly check their pulse to make sure that the heart does not stop beating. Minor rhythm disturbances are perceived by them as formidable harbingers of a possible cardiac arrest, and they do not take into account the fact that the heart always starts to beat differently, if we are something worried or frightened. If you are also still worried about whether you will have a heart attack, a little examination will help you calm down. Make an electrocardiogram to get rid of doubt. And if you experience symptoms similar to a heart attack, at any time, and not only with physical exertion, and the doctor confirms that your cardiogram showed no abnormalities, then be sure - these are manifestations of panic attacks, and not a violation of cardiac activity! The threat to go crazy Many mention the unpleasant state associated with a sense of unreality. They are afraid of this feeling, because they think they are slowly going crazy. People who experience panic attacks begin to seem at this moment to be disconnected from the real world. They fear that their brain has been damaged, and that's why it gives rise to such feelings. We want to reassure you. The feeling of detachment from reality during a panic attack is caused by excessive stress. As soon as you relax and let your body relax, these unpleasant sensations will simply dissipate, and your brain will work as usual, and the mind will be clear and not confused. Therefore, do not worry in vain and live a quiet life, this will only speed up getting rid of all unpleasant sensations. All the "fears" associated with panic attacks are caused by the fact that people do not understand why something unusual is happening to them. It's really very important to understand your body and what it feels to free yourself from the senseless anxiety that your imagination produces. Now that you know more about the differences between the disease state and the panic attacks and when you understand what is going on in your body during a panic attack, you will feel more confident and able to relax more quickly during the attack.

The causes of panic attacks

To continue to successfully combat the state of panic, we need to understand the causes of its occurrence. What are they like?

• Long-term, predisposing causes -heredity. It was found that a panic disorder is observed in relatives, and this may mean that inheritance plays an important role in predisposition to panic attacks. For example, studies conducted with twins showed that if one of the twins suffers from an anxiety disorder, then thirty-one to eighty-eight percent of the second twins also complain of this disorder. Nevertheless, many of those who do not have a "family" history of this disease, it is still developing.
• Biological causes - obsessive-compulsiveposttraumatic stress disorder, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, Wilson-Konovalov's disease, mitral valve prolapse, pheochromocytoma and inner ear inflammation (labyrinthitis): these are all diseases that can trigger the development of anxiety disorders. Also, a "trigger" for the emergence of anxiety can serve as a vitamin B deficiency because of an unbalanced diet.
• Phobias - people often experience panic attacks as a result of exposure to a phobic object or situation.
• Short-term reasons - significant personalloss, including the breakdown of emotional romantic attachment between partners, major life changes, and the abuse of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine.
• Lack of self-confidence is a growing numberthe evidence confirms the statement of specialists that those people who suffer from panic attacks most often prefer a passive style of communication and interaction with other people.
• Medications - sometimes panic attacksmay be a side effect of taking medications such as ritalin (methylphenidate) or even antibiotics of a group of fluoroquinolones. This may be a temporary side effect that occurs when the patient is just starting treatment, or whether this condition continues to persist even when the patient is already accustomed to the drug. In this case, it is necessary to inform your doctor about your increased anxiety, who will pick up another drug.
• Alcohol or withdrawal syndrome of some drugs- Different substances can cause panic attacks, and withdrawal symptoms (in other words, hangovers), as a rule, are always accompanied by increased anxiety.
• Syndrome of hyperventilation - deep breathing completethe breast can lead to hyperventilation, when the ratio of oxygen and carbon in the human blood is disturbed. Syndrome of hyperventilation can cause respiratory alkalosis and hypocapnia - a condition for which heart palpitations and dizziness are characteristic. A person takes these symptoms as a sign of an impending panic attack, which, in fact, provokes another attack.
• Situationally related panic attacks - snappingcertain situations to panic attacks. If a person once experienced an attack in certain circumstances, then he may develop a cognitive (behavioral) predisposition to again survive the attack under similar circumstances. This is one of the classic reasons for the panic attack.
• Pharmacological factors - some chemicalsubstances (mainly stimulants, but some antidepressants can be included here) can either interact with other drugs or provoke a panic attack or even a panic disorder. Some people with panic attacks also report phobias of specific drugs or chemicals; here you can only talk about the psychosomatic effect.
• Chronic and severe diseases. Especially it concerns some heart diseases, which can lead to sudden death. Awareness of this threat can easily lead a patient to a panic attack. Agree, it is very difficult to distinguish symptoms of cardiac dysfunction and symptoms of anxiety disorder. And although such patients are inevitably and very often hospitalized, but without such a simple examination, which we already talked about - without a cardiogram - it is almost impossible to separate the symptoms of panic attacks from the symptoms of heart disease in patients with these types of diagnosis. The panic attack in such cases is mitigated by the appointment of appropriate drugs and / or cognitive behavioral therapy.
• Physiological causes - casually we already mentioned them, but they deserve more detailed consideration.

Physiological causes While somethe symptoms of a panic attack can create the feeling that the body ceases to obey you, in fact it is so protective of itself from possible harm. First, quite often (though not always) sudden fear causes small provoking stimuli in the body. There is an adrenaline rush into the blood, which causes the body to be ready to escape from danger or, if it can not be avoided, to fight it. The release of adrenaline, in turn, causes an increase in heart rate (tachycardia), rapid breathing (hyperventilation), which can be perceived as shortness of breath, and sweating. Such an organism's reaction was necessary for an ancient person, that during an active movement (running or fighting) for the sake of saving his life, muscles received adequate nutrition. That is why rapid breathing was required, which provided more oxygen, and heart palpitations - for accelerated blood flow that carries oxygen. And sweating helped to avoid overheating during active movement. But today, such a reaction of the body is almost never accompanied by increased human activity. And then hyperventilation leads to a drop in the level of carbon dioxide in the lungs, and then in the blood. This causes a change in the chemical composition of the blood, and as a result, the appearance of many other symptoms, such as tingling or numbness in the limbs, dizziness, burning sensation in the body. In addition, the release of adrenaline during a panic attack causes the narrowing of the blood vessels, resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain, and this causes dizziness. As you can see, all the unpleasant feelings that arise during panic attacks can easily be explained from the point of view of physiology. But if you do not know about it, you can be very frightened and decide that something really serious is happening, threatening your life.

Four Ways to Get Rid of Panic Attacks

It can not be denied that panic attacksforce a person to live differently than he used to. Such people should do everything with caution in order to avoid a collision with those factors that can aggravate their anxiety. And if a person suffering from panic attacks is afraid that this trouble will overtake him among strangers, he begins to avoid public places - such as shopping centers, cinemas, public transport and the like. Agree, this makes life very difficult! The only way out for them is to avoid panic. The good news is that there are ways to help put an end to panic attacks. But, before embarking on their implementation, you must understand that we knowingly told you about the physiological processes that occur in the body during a panic attack. Only an awareness of what is really going on with your body will help you successfully cope with your problem. So, here are the four steps that we recommend you to do on the way to getting rid of panic attacks:

Relaxation - you can use respiratorytechniques to help yourself relax as fully as possible. Connect here and listen to calm, pleasant music. The main thing that you have to do in the event of an anxious state is to try to relax and calm down. The more tense you will be, the more pronounced will be the physiological symptoms that give you so much unpleasant experiences.

Using Affirmations and Positive StatementsStart and finish each day of your day by saying to yourself: "I'm strong! I can deal with panic! I have enough peace and endurance to remain calm in any situation! "Any positive statement that will gradually be deposited in your subconscious will help greatly ease your condition. Tell yourself that everything will be all right - and so it will be. Remind yourself constantly that you are able to get rid of panic attacks!

Emotion acceptance This is one of the most effectiveways to eliminate panic attacks. You must acknowledge your fears and anxieties, and once you do, you must look deeper and try to figure out what exactly caused the present state of things. If this is a fear of public speaking, for example, then you must understand what exactly you are afraid of and why. Is it because there are hundreds of people in the hall? If the answer is "yes," then ask yourself why you are afraid of them. Are you afraid that you will forget what you need to talk about? Or are you afraid that you do not look good enough? Or that you will dry up in the throat and you cough? If you find answers to your questions, you will be able to find ways to control your fear. And when you learn to control fear, you can prevent panic attacks.

Blocking negative thoughts you must clearyour mind from negative thoughts, because they have the feature of seizing dominance over you. If you constantly fall into pessimism, your whole life will simply be filled with solid problems and complications. You must learn to tell yourself "Stop!" Every time some unpleasant thought penetrates into your consciousness. Emerging problems must be considered and solved constructively, and not just fall into despondency and pessimism. Listen to your thoughts, analyze what and how you usually think. Try to think only in a positive way! And if things go wrong with this, then try to use therapy with hypnosis or neurolinguistic programming (NLP), which will help improve your condition.

Panic attacks can never become familiara thing, because they deprive you of the right to live a normal life. Do not resign yourself to the fact that panic attacks control you, because you deserve better than living in isolation and in constant fear. Remember that panic attacks can be defeated if you know how to deal with them. And even if you do not have the opportunity (or as long as there is no need) to seek professional help, use our advice, and the improvement will not be long in coming. Be focused and resolute, and work purposefully on the problem. Your perseverance will be rewarded with the long-awaited freedom from fear! We advise you to read:

Comments

comments