It is a strange and horrific experience – your first Panic Attack – and you are probably wondering the same thing that millions of people have – what is it? – how do I control the symptoms? – and how can I treat this condition?
An Anxiety Attack – or sometimes referred to as a Panic Attack – is produced by a psycho-reactive abnormality in your brain’s reaction to an anxiety-provoking stimulus. What normal people handle automatically, discarding any serious consideration to the stimulus is not subject to such dismissal in your brain.
It is the spiraling effect by your inability to disconnect from the anxiety that causes the resulting panic attack. For many people, the resulting attack is not unlike a heart attack, because is combines rapid, pounding heartbeat with cold sweat, chest pain, and headache – even dizziness.
As result of this confusion with the symptoms of cardiac arrest, and even asthma, patients often end up in the emergency room. There they realize or are told that there is no physical emergency and they are typically referred to their family physician for diagnosis of a possible anxiety disorder.
It is important for you to understand the difference between a Panic Attack associated with Panic Phobia, and that associated with General Anxiety Disorder. General Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, is the more common disorder – affecting millions of Americans. Often linked to Depression and occurring more frequently in women and already depressed persons, the source of the anxiety is often everyday issues involving job, bills, family, and health.
It’s more serious cousin – Chronic Panic Phobia – or Panic Disorder is often confused with GAD but it is different in both causal stimulus and severity. Panic Disorder sufferers rarely know when an attack will occur, while the GAD sufferer often does. Panic Disorder sufferers often cannot even relate what it was that they were thinking about or focusing on just prior to the attack. Panic Disorder is much more serious than GAD and should be treated with a triumvirate of treatments – medication, lifestyle, and therapy.
Their doctor will typically put them on symptomatic medication, suggests lifestyle changes and refer them to a therapist for treatment that should alleviate and ultimately prevent the anxiety attack. Often the treatment suggested will include significant alterations in your lifestyle. These normally will impact your diet, sleep, activity level – and specifically your level of strenuous exercise – along with the reduction of your intake of network news, competitive sports, argument/conflict in everyday activities and suggested entry into healing arts, yoga or meditation. It is the wise patient who becomes an informed patient.