Panic Attacks: Symptoms and Treatment Options

All of a sudden your breath starts to quicken and a large jolt of adrenaline is delivered into your bloodstream. Your mind starts to race with horrible thoughts and you feel as though you are going insane or are dying. What is happening to you? This strange occurrence is called a panic attack. A panic attack is an episode that is brought on normally by fear or a large amount of stress though triggers vary by sufferers. Panic attacks can happen to anybody but they are more prevalent in people who have phobias or depression. Read on for some basic information about the symptoms, triggers, and treatment of panic attacks.

Symptoms

There are normally no symptoms prior to the actual attack. Symptoms that occur during the actual panic attack have a variety of physical, mental, and emotional occurrences that can be very scary for the sufferer and those around them. Below is a short list of the most common occurrences during an attack.

Physical- The physical occurrences can be shortness of breath, sweating, altered heart beat, or shaking. The physical symptoms combined can mimic the signs of a heart attack, stroke, or other medical occurrence.

Mental- The mental aspect of a panic attack is probably the most frightening. Symptoms can include loss of ability to react to things, thoughts that race, loud internal voices, and the feeling that something bad is coming.

Emotional- The emotional side is largely based on fear. Fear of death, going crazy, and the fear of the panic attack itself. Flashbacks of how bad previous panic attacks can also be a source of fear.

Triggers

Most suffers of panic attacks have certain triggers that bring on the attack. Phobias are probably the leading cause of panic attacks. Simply having a quickening in your breath can cause other panic attack symptoms to arise. After more symptoms arrive the sufferer will have an adrenaline boost which aggravates the symptoms to all new heights.

Treatment