Panic disorder - a mental disorder in which a person from time to time there are bouts of anxiety or panic attacks, often without any objective reason. Every person at least once in their lives experienced anxiety or panic - is a natural reaction to a dangerous or stressful situation. However, in people suffering from panic disorder, it happens regularly and regardless of external conditions.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of panic disorder are regular bouts of panic attacks. They are accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Irregular heartbeat;
- Sweating;
- Shivers;
- Hot flashes;
- Chills;
- Shortness of breath;
- The feeling of tightness in the throat;
- Chest pain;
- Nausea;
- Dizziness;
- Weakness;
- Numbness or tingling in the body;
- Dry mouth;
- Urination or defecation;
- Ringing in the ears;
- The feeling of fear, sometimes - the fear of death;
- Tingling in the fingers.
People who have had a panic attack often begins to fear the next attack, which is why they live in a constant cycle of "fear of fear" that contributes to the next attack. Sometimes panic attacks are so intense that the person may seem as if he had a heart attack
Heart disease and heart attacks: that every woman should know
. However, it is important to understand that the symptoms of panic disorder, like heart palpitations and shortness of breath do not bring real harm to physical health. People who have panic attacks have occurred more than once, learn to recognize and even to a certain degree of control over their symptoms.
In most cases, panic attacks continue for 5-20 minutes. Cases, when they went up to one hour, but in all likelihood, in fact patients a panic attack followed another, and after a panic attack
Panic attacks - fear of nowhere
for a long time maintained a high level of anxiety
Anxiety - how to distinguish normal from disease?
.
If you regularly symptoms of a panic attack, you should consult your doctor. Panic disorder is diagnosed when the patient's panic attacks happen at least once a month if he experiences associated with this severe anxiety, and if as a result of his behavior changes significantly. In addition, a physician in the diagnostic process is to make sure that the symptoms characteristic of panic disorder is not caused by any other mental disorders.
Causes
As is the case with many other mental disorders, the exact causes of panic disorder are unknown. It is expected that it may develop as a result of a combination of physical and psychological factors.
- Traumatic experiences such as the loss of a loved one can be a trigger for panic disorder. Symptoms of may appear immediately after the traumatic event, and years later.
- Genetic factors. In people whose close relatives suffer from panic disorder, the likelihood of developing this disorder significantly above average, but the exact reason for this is unclear.
- Neurotransmitters. It is assumed that neurotransmitter imbalance increases the risk of panic disorder in a human.
- Increased sensitivity to carbon dioxide. Some experts believe that this may be the cause of panic disorder. During the experiments, inhalation of air with a high concentration of carbon dioxide caused in people with this disorder panic attacks. Breathing exercises can alleviate or stop the panic attacks.
- Features thinking. According to one theory, people who suffer from panic disorder tend to pay too much attention to minor physical symptoms and interpret them as signs of dangerous diseases. This causes a reaction of the nervous system, and starts a panic attack.
Treatment
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
This kind of therapy is most often used to treat panic disorders. Patients go to therapy sessions every week and, although the immediate effect should be expected, cognitive-behavioral therapy provides long-term, stable result.
During secants therapist can, for example, to talk with the patient about how he responds to starting a panic attack, what he was thinking during and after the attack. After the doctor will provide the most negative thoughts and attitudes towards the patient, it will replace the more realistic (well, the task of the doctor can be to wean people to think during a panic attack that he is about to die, but rather - to tell yourself that all soon be over, and nothing terrible actually happens). Therapists help patients to change their behavior so that in the future it is easier to cope with panic attacks. For example, he can teach him breathing exercises that help to calm down and to objectively assess the situation.
In support groups people can get a lot more information about their disease, as well as to communicate with people who also suffer from panic disorder. People who have been diagnosed with a mental disorder, it is extremely important to understand that they are not alone facing this problem, and to share their experiences.
With antidepressants can treat not only depression
Depression - a little more than a bad mood
But other mental disorders. As a rule, they begin to act in 2-4 weeks after the start of treatment, and it is important that the patient continued to take them, even if he does not see a result. In the treatment of panic disorder using two types of antidepressants: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants. Tricyclic antidepressants usually prescribed in the event that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor do not give results for twelve weeks.
