What is a panic attack? A panic attack is the sudden onset of fear, anxiety or unease in a situation in which most people would not be afraid. During these attacks the person can experience a number of symptoms associated with anxiety, including shortness of breath or trouble catching breath, pounding heart, dizziness, tingling in feet or fingers, tightness or pain in chest, choking or smothering feeling, feeling faint, sweating, trembling, hot or cold flushes, nausea or butterflies in stomach, muscle tension and the urge to flee. Panic attacks are thought to occur because the Fight/Flight System is too sensitive. The Fight/Flight System is designed to protect us from overt physical danger. When attacked in the street, for example, this is the system that enables you to either defend yourself or run away from the danger. When the Fight/Flight System is activated and there is no overt physical danger it is like a car alarm that goes off when there is no one breaking into the car – it is a false alarm. A person can have a Panic Attack with little impact on their functioning. However some people have one or more Panic Attacks that lead them to dramatically change their behaviour for fear of experiencing another Panic Attack. Sometimes this leads to Agoraphobia as the person limits their life to such an extent that they do not leave their house or their place of safety for fear of having a Panic Attack. When the Panic Attack impacts on their life to such an extent the problem is described as Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 07:00:00 +0000