Coping With Panic Attacks

What are panic attacks? Most people have experienced this condition. It is actually a common disorder where a person feels intense fear or anxiety suddenly. Usually, these come without any warning and causes of these attacks are not obvious.

These attacks may occur only within a few minutes, but in rare cases, it could last up to a few hours. Frequency also varies. Some experience panic attacks only once in a while, while others may have it quite often.

Experts believe that panic attacks are results of a sudden rush of adrenaline causing the heart to palpitate and pump extra blood. If in an emergency situation, this extra blood would help you run fast and heightened your abilities, however, this won't be advantageous in normal conditions.

It takes about three minutes to fully get your body into this emergency mode, then within that three-minute period, you must be able to stop the adrenal glands to fill your body with adrenaline. When in a panic attack, your body is triggered by a false alarm, but at that time, it would feel so real.

Panic attacks are usually caused by too much anxiety. First thing that needs to be done when you feel like you're going to have a panic attack would be to relax your mind and body. Start taking deep and complete breaths.

Stop creating negative thoughts and accept positive feelings. Also try to use coping statements such as "Stop" or "I'll be fine". Be aware of the things happening around you to be able to convince yourself that nothing wrong's going to happen and it's just all a false alarm.

Coping with panic attacks could sometimes be difficult. It is also as difficult to live with someone who may have not fully recovered from it. Agoraphobia could be the most harmful effect of panic attacks and immediate treatment should be sought.

Treatment for panic attacks include psychotherapy or also known as cognitive-behavioral therapy. Seeing psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists could help in treating panic disorders.

A combination of medication and psychotherapy would eventually cure the person. Also, those who are repeatedly exposed to their phobias without getting panic attacks are on their way to healing.

These kinds of disorder might need time to heal but with constant effort, one would be able to fully recover from them.

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