Symptoms of Panic Attacks
A key symptom of a panic disorder is the actual fear of having future panic attacks. Most people who have had one panic attack are likely to have others and this could partly be due to the fear triggering the attack.
The fear of experiencing an attack again can cause the person to avoid places and situations where an attack has occurred in the past or where they believe an attack may occur. They may even develop a phobia about these situations that they feel unable to control.
Panic attacks are different from other types of anxiety because they can happens so suddenly and unexpected. They can occur without being provoked and are often times disabling, because on a conscious level, they are totally unexpected.
The panic attacks themselves can be a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Once in a pattern of anxiety and avoidance, the person is said to have a panic disorder.
A Panic disorder can have a serious impact on a person`s life unless the person receives effective treatment. Panic attacks are serious health problems that are not as uncommon as you may think. Three million of adult Americans – or 1.7% – suffer from an attack at some point in their lives. The peak age at which an individual might experience their first panic attack is between the ages of 15 and 19. This is clearly a vulnerable age anyway and the onset of an anxiety disorder could become a major problem unless treated.
A panic attack will typically lasts for several minutes and is one of the most distressing conditions that a person can experience. Since its symptoms can closely mimic those of a heart attack, the individual fears the attack itself by believing what is happening to their bodies will lead to death. Panic attacks can take place while an individual is sleeping as well. These are nocturnal panic attacks but they occur far less often than panic attacks during the day. 40%-70% of individuals who suffer from daytime panic attacks will also suffer from nocturnal panic attacks.
These attacks tend to cause sufferers to wake suddenly from sleep in a state of sudden anxiety through no apparent cause and can have all the other symptoms of a panic attack. Although nocturnal panic attacks tend to last less than 10 minutes, the time that it takes to fully calm down after such an experience can be much longer.
While typically, individuals tend to suffer in certain different ways when it comes to panic attacks, the symptoms for all individuals fall into the dame state of mind; an uncontrollable fear.
