Panic Disorder Symptoms

We all know what panic feels like. It was the same wave of fear that we face when our name is announced in the school assembly and the feeling when we find ourselves alone in a desolate road and also the feeling when we are nearing a deadline in office. Bottom-line: Panic strikes all! Moreover, it strikes without any signal and leaves the person feeling completely terrified. Some of us experience our heart pounding, face burning, difficulty in breathing and dizziness. This is what a panic attack is. A panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder and is confirmed after the subject experiences at least three panic attacks in a period of three weeks. This period of repetitive attacks does not involve situations of physical exertion or life threatening trials. Panic disorder, if overlooked, can affect your physical and psychological abilities to a great extent. It is, hence prudent to go through the panic disorder symptoms so that you can prevent this from happening in your life - or find the tact to treat it right away.

Panic Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

Symptoms

Panic disorder is a condition of recurrent unexpected panic attacks. The symptoms indicating a panic attack develop brusquely and usually reach their peak within a span of 10 minutes. Most panic attacks last for about 20-30 minutes and attacks lasting more than an hour are extremely rare. A panic attack includes these symptoms:

Dizziness
Difficulty in breathing with pain in chest
Pounding of heart
Nausea
Mild or profuse sweating
Extreme trembling and shaking
An intense urge to escape from the situation
Cramps forming in the abdominal region

The memory of the strong fear and terror that you faced during the attacks can also negatively influence your psychological well-being and you may encounter some panic disorder symptoms such as:

Anticipatory anxiety – After a panic attack is over, one generally feels relaxed and more like themselves. However, under this kind of anxiety, you continue to feel anxious and tense. This anxiety originates from a fear of having more panic attacks in future. This stage of ‘fear of the fear’ is prominent for a long time and can be awfully restricting.
Phobic avoidance – You develop a kind of phobia of the previous situation and begin to avoid similar circumstances or environments. This avoidance may be created based on the belief that the situation you’re eluding caused a panic attack in the past. Or, you may even avoid places where escape would be difficult or help would be inaccessible if you had a panic attack. In extreme cases, phobic avoidance becomes agoraphobia, a terror of public places and isolated spaces.

Remedies:

An effective therapy for the treatment of panic disorder is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It deals with the thinking patterns and actions that are supporting or triggering the panic attacks. For example, if you are in a crowded place, what is the worst thing that can happen? You may face difficulty in passing through the crowd but you will not have a heart attack. This therapy offers you a realistic approach to your fears.
Exposure therapy also helps people in coping with the fear. You are exposed to a panic situation but under controlled conditions. This offers you the opportunity to come out of your fear in a healthy way.
Another effective way to help treat panic disorder is to avoid smoking and caffeine as these products provoke panic attacks.
Practicing meditation and yoga exercises also does a great deal in avoiding panic attacks.

Panic is a day-to-day word but when it becomes a disorder, it ruptures all the normalcy of the life one has ever known. However, giving up in this condition is not an option – you must soldier on with a determined mindset to beat it at its own game.

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