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What can help anxiety attacks


Panic attacks and panic disorder - Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis

Your primary care provider will determine if you have panic attacks, panic disorder or another condition, such as heart or thyroid problems, with symptoms that resemble panic attacks.

To help pinpoint a diagnosis, you may have:

  • A complete physical exam
  • Blood tests to check your thyroid and other possible conditions and tests on your heart, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  • A psychological evaluation to talk about your symptoms, fears or concerns, stressful situations, relationship problems, situations you may be avoiding, and family history

You may fill out a psychological self-assessment or questionnaire. You also may be asked about alcohol or other substance use.

Criteria for diagnosis of panic disorder

Not everyone who has panic attacks has panic disorder. For a diagnosis of panic disorder, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, lists these points:

  • You have frequent, unexpected panic attacks.
  • At least one of your attacks has been followed by one month or more of ongoing worry about having another attack; continued fear of the consequences of an attack, such as losing control, having a heart attack or "going crazy"; or significant changes in your behavior, such as avoiding situations that you think may trigger a panic attack.
  • Your panic attacks aren't caused by drugs or other substance use, a medical condition, or another mental health condition, such as social phobia or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

If you have panic attacks but not a diagnosed panic disorder, you can still benefit from treatment. If panic attacks aren't treated, they can get worse and develop into panic disorder or phobias.

More Information

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

Treatment

Treatment can help reduce the intensity and frequency of your panic attacks and improve your function in daily life. The main treatment options are psychotherapy and medications. One or both types of treatment may be recommended, depending on your preference, your history, the severity of your panic disorder and whether you have access to therapists who have special training in treating panic disorders.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, is considered an effective first choice treatment for panic attacks and panic disorder. Psychotherapy can help you understand panic attacks and panic disorder and learn how to cope with them.

A form of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy can help you learn, through your own experience, that panic symptoms are not dangerous. Your therapist will help you gradually re-create the symptoms of a panic attack in a safe, repetitive manner. Once the physical sensations of panic no longer feel threatening, the attacks begin to resolve. Successful treatment can also help you overcome fears of situations that you've avoided because of panic attacks.

Seeing results from treatment can take time and effort. You may start to see panic attack symptoms reduce within several weeks, and often symptoms decrease significantly or go away within several months. You may schedule occasional maintenance visits to help ensure that your panic attacks remain under control or to treat recurrences.

Medications

Medications can help reduce symptoms associated with panic attacks as well as depression if that's an issue for you. Several types of medication have been shown to be effective in managing symptoms of panic attacks, including:

  • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Generally safe with a low risk of serious side effects, SSRI antidepressants are typically recommended as the first choice of medications to treat panic attacks. SSRIs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of panic disorder include fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva) and sertraline (Zoloft).
  • Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). These medications are another class of antidepressants. The SNRI venlafaxine (Effexor XR) is FDA approved for the treatment of panic disorder.
  • Benzodiazepines. These sedatives are central nervous system depressants. Benzodiazepines approved by the FDA for the treatment of panic disorder include alprazolam (Xanax) and clonazepam (Klonopin). Benzodiazepines are generally used only on a short-term basis because they can be habit-forming, causing mental or physical dependence. These medications are not a good choice if you've had problems with alcohol or drug use. They can also interact with other drugs, causing dangerous side effects.

If one medication doesn't work well for you, your doctor may recommend switching to another or combining certain medications to boost effectiveness. Keep in mind that it can take several weeks after first starting a medication to notice an improvement in symptoms.

All medications have a risk of side effects, and some may not be recommended in certain situations, such as pregnancy. Talk with your doctor about possible side effects and risks.

More Information

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Psychotherapy

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Lifestyle and home remedies

While panic attacks and panic disorder benefit from professional treatment, these self-care steps can help you manage symptoms:

  • Stick to your treatment plan. Facing your fears can be difficult, but treatment can help you feel like you're not a hostage in your own home.
  • Join a support group. Joining a group for people with panic attacks or anxiety disorders can connect you with others facing the same problems.
  • Avoid caffeine, alcohol, smoking and recreational drugs. All of these can trigger or worsen panic attacks.
  • Practice stress management and relaxation techniques. For example, yoga, deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation — tensing one muscle at a time, and then completely releasing the tension until every muscle in the body is relaxed — also may be helpful.
  • Get physically active. Aerobic activity may have a calming effect on your mood.
  • Get sufficient sleep. Get enough sleep so that you don't feel drowsy during the day.

Alternative medicine

Some dietary supplements have been studied as a treatment for panic disorder, but more research is needed to understand the risks and benefits. Herbal products and dietary supplements aren't monitored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the same way medications are. You can't always be certain of what you're getting and whether it's safe.

Before trying herbal remedies or dietary supplements, talk to your doctor. Some of these products can interfere with prescription medications or cause dangerous interactions.

Preparing for your appointment

If you've had signs or symptoms of a panic attack, make an appointment with your primary care provider. After an initial evaluation, he or she may refer you to a mental health professional for treatment.

What you can do

Before your appointment, make a list of:

  • Your symptoms, including when they first occurred and how often you've had them
  • Key personal information, including traumatic events in your past and any stressful major events that occurred before your first panic attack
  • Medical information, including other physical or mental health conditions that you have
  • Medications, vitamins, herbal products and other supplements, and the dosages
  • Questions to ask your doctor

Ask a trusted family member or friend to go with you to your appointment, if possible, to lend support and help you remember information.

Questions to ask your primary care provider at your first appointment

  • What do you believe is causing my symptoms?
  • Is it possible that an underlying medical problem is causing my symptoms?
  • Do I need any diagnostic tests?
  • Should I see a mental health professional?
  • Is there anything I can do now to help manage my symptoms?

Questions to ask if you're referred to a mental health professional

  • Do I have panic attacks or panic disorder?
  • What treatment approach do you recommend?
  • If you're recommending therapy, how often will I need it and for how long?
  • Would group therapy be helpful in my case?
  • If you're recommending medications, are there any possible side effects?
  • For how long will I need to take medication?
  • How will you monitor whether my treatment is working?
  • What can I do now to reduce the risk of my panic attacks recurring?
  • Are there any self-care steps I can take to help manage my condition?
  • Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can have?
  • What websites do you recommend?

Don't hesitate to ask any other questions.

What to expect from your doctor

Your primary care provider or mental health professional may ask:

  • What are your symptoms, and when did they first occur?
  • How often do your attacks occur, and how long do they last?
  • Does anything in particular seem to trigger an attack?
  • How often do you experience fear of another attack?
  • Do you avoid locations or experiences that seem to trigger an attack?
  • How do your symptoms affect your life, such as school, work and personal relationships?
  • Did you experience major stress or a traumatic event shortly before your first panic attack?
  • Have you ever experienced major trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse or military battle?
  • How would you describe your childhood, including your relationship with your parents?
  • Have you or any of your close relatives been diagnosed with a mental health problem, including panic attacks or panic disorder?
  • Have you been diagnosed with any medical conditions?
  • Do you use caffeine, alcohol or recreational drugs? How often?
  • Do you exercise or do other types of regular physical activity?

Your primary care provider or mental health professional will ask additional questions based on your responses, symptoms and needs. Preparing and anticipating questions will help you make the most of your appointment time.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

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What They Are, How to Stop, and More

Panic attacks can be scary and may hit you quickly. Here are 12 strategies you can use to try to stop or manage panic attacks. Some may help you in the moment, while others can help in the longer term.

1. Seek

counseling

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and other types of counseling can often help people who have panic attacks and who have panic disorders. CBT aims to help you change the way you see challenging or frightening situations and to help you find new ways to approach these challenges as they arise.

You can find CBT for individuals or groups, online or face-to-face, and the length of treatment can also vary. In exposure-based CBT, your therapist will expose you to something that can trigger a panic attack and help you work your way through it.

As well as changing behavior, there is some evidence that CBT might affect structures in your brain that are responsible for panic symptoms.

In 2018, some researchers found evidence that people who attended four weekly sessions of exposure-based CBT experienced changes in the neural pathways involved in panic symptoms. However, this was an early study, and more research is needed.

In 2018, 37 people in Korea attended a mindfulness-based program once a week for 4 weeks, to see if brief treatment would help reduce symptoms of panic disorder. One aspect of the treatment was to focus on their heart rate, as some people experience cardiovascular symptoms during a panic attack.

The findings suggested that the participants could better manage their symptoms using their own thought processes after the treatment. However, this was a small study, and there was no control group. More research is needed to find out how effective short-term therapy can be.

2. Take medications

Benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam (Xanax), can help treat the symptoms of panic when they occur.

However, they won’t help treat an underlying anxiety disorder and can quickly lead to dependence. For this reason, doctors only recommend them for short-term use during a crisis.

Because benzodiazepines are a prescription medication, you’ll likely need a panic disorder diagnosis to have the medication on hand.

In some cases, a doctor may prescribe anti-depressants for long-term use. Examples include:

  • selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as escitalopram (Lexapro) or fluoxetine (Prozac)
  • serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), such as duloxetine (Cymbalta)
  • anti-anxiety drugs, for instance, azapirone (Buspirone)

Some anti-seizure medications, such as pregabalin or clonazepam, can also help treat anxiety.

Which drugs can treat anxiety disorder?

3. Use deep breathing

While hyperventilating is a symptom of panic attacks that can increase fear, deep breathing can reduce symptoms of panic during an attack.

In one study, published in 2017, 40 people joined either a therapy group that involved deep or diaphragmatic breathing or a control group. After 20 intensive training sessions, those who practiced deep breathing saw improvements in their attention levels and emotional well-being.

Blood tests also showed lower cortisol levels in this group, suggesting lower levels of stress. The participants did not have panic disorder, but the strategies could help people who have panic attacks.

Another group of scientists found that slow breathing could have similar effects. They suggested it could also improve feelings of relaxation, comfort, and alertness and reduce symptoms of arousal anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.

If you’re able to control your breathing, you’re less likely to experience the hyperventilating that can make other symptoms — and the panic attack itself — worse.

Focus on taking a deep breath in through your nose, feeling the air slowly fill your chest and belly. Then slowly exhale through your mouth and feel the air leave your body. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, hold for a second, and then breathe out through your nose for a count of four:

What is diaphragmatic breathing and how do you do it?

4. Recognize that you’re having a panic attack

By recognizing that you’re having a panic attack instead of a heart attack, you can remind yourself that this is temporary, it will pass, and that you’re OK.

Take away the fear that you may be dying or that impending doom is looming, both symptoms of panic attacks. This can allow you to focus on other techniques to reduce your symptoms.

It is not always possible to avoid triggers for a panic attack, but if you know what triggers it, this can help you understand that it is a panic attack and not something else.

5. Close your eyes

Some panic attacks come from triggers that overwhelm you. If you’re in a fast-paced environment with a lot of stimuli, this can feed your panic attack.

To reduce the stimuli, close your eyes during your panic attack. This can block out any extra stimuli and make it easier to focus on your breathing.

6. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness can help ground you in the reality of what’s around you. Since panic attacks can cause a feeling of detachment or separation from reality, this can combat your panic attack as it’s approaching or actually happening.

Mindfulness involves:

  • focusing your attention on the present
  • recognizing the emotional state you’re in
  • meditating to reduce stress and help you relax

Focus on the physical sensations you are familiar with, like digging your feet into the ground or feeling the texture of your jeans on your hands. These specific sensations ground you firmly in reality and give you something objective to focus on.

Experts say that mindfulness strategies, such as meditation, can help manage anxiety symptoms, although it’s not clear they can treat an underlying anxiety disorder.

American Family Physician recommended mindfulness as a strategy for dealing with panic and anxiety in 2015, saying it can be as helpful for reducing stress as CBT and other behavioral therapies.

Some research has suggested that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy could help people with anxiety disorders who are receiving medical treatment but haven’t found drug treatment helpful.

Online meditation options

Read our review of the best online meditation options to help find the right fit for you.

7. Find a focus object

Some people find it helpful to find something to focus all their attention on during a panic attack. Pick one object in clear sight and consciously note everything about it possible.

For example, you may notice how the hand on the clock jerks when it ticks, and that it’s slightly lopsided. Describe the patterns, color, shapes, and size of the object to yourself. Focus all your energy on this object, and your panic symptoms may subside.

8. Use muscle relaxation techniques

Muscle tension is a symptom of anxiety, and muscle relaxation techniques can help reduce tension and promote relaxation during an attack. Progressive muscle relaxation aims to release tension in one group of muscles at a time to relax the whole body.

Much like deep breathing, muscle relaxation techniques can help stop your panic attack in its tracks by controlling your body’s response as much as possible.

If you attend muscle relaxation therapy, your therapist might take you through the following steps:

  • First, you may learn how to tense the muscles before releasing the tension.
  • Then, you will learn how to relax the muscles without tensing them first.
  • You may also learn how to relax specific sets of muscles, for example, in the shoulders, for practical use in everyday situations.
  • Finally, you may learn how to practice rapid relaxation, when you can identify any areas of tension and release it as needed.

To start relaxing your muscles at home, consciously relax one muscle at a time, starting with something simple like the fingers in your hand, and move your way up through your body.

Muscle relaxation techniques will be most effective when you’ve practiced them beforehand.

9. Picture your happy place

Guided imagery techniques can help reduce stress and anxiety. Research suggests that both spending time in nature and visualizing nature can help treat and manage anxiety.

What’s the most relaxing place in the world that you can think of? A sunny beach with gently rolling waves? A cabin in the mountains?

Picture yourself there and try to focus on the details as much as possible. Imagine digging your toes into the warm sand, or smelling the sharp scent of pine trees.

This place should be quiet, calm, and relaxing — no streets of New York or Hong Kong, no matter how much you love the cities in real life.

Here, learn about five visualization techniques that can help you meditate.

10. Engage in light exercise

Research shows that regular exercise can not only keep the body healthy but boost mental well-being, too.

Experts have found that exercising at 60 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate for 20 minutes three times per week can help reduce anxiety.

If you are not used to exercising, talk with your doctor before starting. There is some evidence that starting aerobic exercise anew can trigger additional anxiety in people with an anxiety disorder. Building up gradually can help your body adjust and avoid breathing problems. Aerobic exercise includes activities such as running on a treadmill.

If you feel stressed or you’re hyperventilating or struggling to breathe, stop and take a rest or choose a more moderate option, such as walking, swimming, or yoga.

11. Keep lavender on hand

Lavender is a traditional remedy that many people use to reduce stress and help them relax.

Research suggests it has a calming effect but doesn’t lead to dependence or cause withdrawal symptoms. Using products that contain diluted lavender oil may help reduce or manage symptoms of anxiety.

However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate essential oils, and strengths and ingredients vary widely.

If you use lavender essential oil, make sure you:

  • get your oil from a reputable source, such as a pharmacy
  • follow the instructions for use
  • avoid applying concentrated oil directly to the skin
  • avoid using lavender with benzodiazepines because the combination can cause intense drowsiness

While research suggests there are health benefits, the FDA doesn’t monitor or regulate the purity or quality of essential oils. It’s important to talk with a healthcare professional before you begin using essential oils and be sure to research the quality of a brand’s products. Always do a patch test before trying a new essential oil.

Which essential oil is right for you?

12. Repeat a mantra internally

Repeating a mantra internally can be relaxing and reassuring, and it can give you something to grasp onto during a panic attack.

Whether it’s simply “This too shall pass,” or a mantra that speaks to you personally, repeat it on loop in your head until you feel the panic attack start to subside.

Panic attacks are sudden, intense surges of fear, panic, or anxiety. They are overwhelming, and they have physical as well as emotional symptoms.

If you have a panic attack, you might find you have difficulty breathing, you sweat profusely and tremble, and you may feel your heart pounding.

Some people will also experience chest pain and a feeling of detachment from reality or themselves during a panic attack, so they may think they’re having a heart attack. Others have reported feeling like they are having a stroke.

Causes

Panic attacks can happen for various reasons, and sometimes they happen for no apparent reason.

You’re more likely to experience them if you:

  • have panic disorder
  • have another anxiety disorder
  • use certain substances or have a substance use disorder
  • use certain medications
  • have a medical condition, such as an overactive thyroid
  • have a condition that involves psychosis

A panic attack often happens when you’re exposed to a trigger, but triggers vary widely between people. In some cases, there may be no clear trigger.

However, some people find that the following can trigger an attack:

  • social events
  • public speaking
  • conflict
  • situations that remind you of past or current stress in your life

Here, learn more about the causes and triggers of panic attacks.

Symptoms

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) defines a panic attack as “an abrupt surge of intense fear or discomfort.”

They tend to start without warning, and symptoms reach a peak within minutes.

If you have a panic attack, here are some of the symptoms you might experience:

  • a pounding heart, palpitations, or rapid heart rate
  • sweating
  • shaking or trembling
  • difficulty breathing or feeling as if you are choking or being smothered
  • chest pain or discomfort
  • nausea or stomach upset
  • feeling dizzy, light-headed, or faint
  • feeling unsteady
  • chills or feeling hot
  • numbness or tingling
  • feelings as if things are unreal
  • feeling detached from yourself.
  • fear of losing control or “going crazy”
  • fear of dying

It is not always possible to prevent a panic attack, but the following tips may help:

  • do breathing exercises every day
  • get regular exercise
  • follow a diet that is low in added sugar and eat regularly to avoid glucose spikes
  • avoid caffeine, smoking, and alcohol, as they may make anxiety worse
  • seek counseling and other professional help
  • ask your doctor about local support groups

Avoiding specific triggers may help prevent a panic attack, but this may not always be possible or appropriate. Some experts encourage people to “ride out” the attack and continue doing things, if possible.

However, if a situation is likely to cause severe distress, consider waiting until you’ve worked with a professional to develop skills and strategies to help you cope.

If you have concerns about panic attacks, consider talking with a doctor, especially if:

  • You have one or more panic attacks and continue to worry about panic attacks for a month or longer.
  • You find yourself changing your behavior after an attack.
  • Your concerns or feelings of fear or anxiety are affecting your work, studies, or daily life.

Many people experience panic attacks, in which they suddenly feel anxious and not in control of a situation, possibly without knowing why.

You may feel breathless or as if you are having a heart attack, and it can be very frightening.

Panic attacks can occur unexpectedly and have a significant impact on your daily life, but there are ways to manage them. Treatment is also available for panic and anxiety disorders, which may be an underlying condition.

If you have concerns about panic attacks, speak with your doctor. They can help you work out a suitable strategy to manage symptoms and reduce the impact. This may involve medications, such as antidepressants, alongside counseling.

Read this article in Spanish.

Panic attacks: what to do?

Panic attack (PA) is an episode of intense fear or discomfort that occurs suddenly, for no apparent reason, which is characterized by the following symptoms, (minimum 4):

  • increased heart rate,
  • increase in blood pressure,
  • sweating,
  • dry mouth,
  • chills,
  • sensation of suffocation,
  • labored breathing,
  • chest discomfort,
  • lump in throat,
  • nausea,
  • burning in the stomach,
  • feeling dizzy,
  • numbness or tingling sensation,
  • derealization or depersonalization,
  • fear of death,
  • fear of losing control of oneself.

Symptoms should not be due to other diseases.

The first PA are more common at a young age, but are found after 60 years. PA can occur during any activity and even at rest. Often they occur for no apparent reason, but they can occur against the background of stressful and traumatic events, emotional stress, life difficulties, situations of isolation from the family, experiences associated with loneliness. The impact of the above situations may cease, but PA will continue to occur.

PA is based on a complex of biopsychosocial factors, the combination of which leads to the appearance of the first PA.

After some time and after several episodes of panic attacks, a person may develop anxiety about the next attack and the formation of avoidance behavior in relation to public places, being in a crowd, large open spaces, traveling alone. This is due to the fact that often the thought “they won’t be able to help me with an attack and I can die / lose control” often arises.

People who have had PA often describe it as: “the ground is slipping from under their feet”, “the heart is about to jump out of the chest”, “there is not enough air”, etc.

It should be noted that not a single panic attack led to the death of a person. However, knowing this does not always help to cope with PA.

If you are experiencing similar conditions, you should definitely see a doctor for an examination. Once other medical conditions have been ruled out and panic disorder has been established, psychotherapy and/or medication support may be recommended.

There are self-help methods for panic attacks. They are most effective at the very beginning of an episode of PA.

Physiological:

  1. An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide and a decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood, reflexively inhibits the mechanisms of PA.

For this you can use the breath in a paper bag. The bag must be positioned so that it covers the area of ​​​​the mouth and nose. Breathe in slowly and continuously through your nose and out through your mouth. If you don't have a paper bag nearby, try using your palms folded in a boat.

  1. Reducing the frequency and strength of heart contractions through stimulation of the parasympathetic system by abdominal breathing.

Diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing is performed in a comfortable standing/sitting/lying position and is a slow continuous breath through the nose for 3 counts. Imagine that you are inflating a balloon with your stomach. Then perform the same slow and continuous exhalation through the mouth for 5-6 counts.

Psychological:

  1. Return to reality:
  • Grounding. If you are standing, then feel how your feet are in contact with the surface, if it is difficult to feel this, tap your feet on the surface. If you are sitting, sway from side to side and feel the support in the area of ​​the buttocks. Shift the focus of attention to the body and your points of support.
  • It may be helpful to wear an elastic band around your wrist. When an episode of PA occurs, pull and release the elastic band, focus on the sensations at the point of contact between the surface of the hand and the elastic band. Repeat several times.
  • Use a positive voice setting, for example, “Everything is fine, there is no catastrophe”, “I'm fine, it's just a fantasy”, “I'm calm, I'm not afraid”.
  • Switch the focus of attention to the external environment, describe what is happening in reality next to you. For example, “a red car drove past”, “a girl in a green scarf passed by”, “there are three people at the bus stop”, “at 6:45”, “the green traffic light is on”, “an old shop”, “you hear music from a cafe ” and so on, at least 10 facts.
  1. Use positive visualization. Remember in the form of a photo card a pleasant event or a place where you are usually safe. Close your eyes and immerse yourself in the exploration of the photo in memory. Feel the body relax and the physical symptoms go away.
  1. Explore your fear through metaphor. Answer yourself the questions: “what form is my fear?”, “what color?”, “what does it look like?”, “what can it be called?” "What does he want from me?" - this will allow you not to move away from yourself, plunging into a panic state, but, on the contrary, will approach your experiences through a metaphor.

Remember the formula "STOP Crane" for an emergency stop of the onset of a panic attack:

С - "Stop!"

It is necessary to say this to yourself clearly and clearly, without thinking "what does this mean?" and "why?" describing what is happening around you.0005

P - Positive setting.

Focus returns to thoughts, repeat settings like "Everything is fine, there is no catastrophe", "I'm fine, this will pass", "I'm calm, I'm coping" and any other close to you.

Crane - Early action!

Switch your attention to the action that you performed before the attack or any routine, everyday activity that you would do outside of the attack.

Treating panic disorder is a lengthy process. Self-help methods reduce the fear of PA, soften its manifestation, and shorten the duration of the episode. Psychotherapy still has the main effect, do not neglect the help of specialists.

Prepared by: Sinkevichiute E.R., psychotherapist,

medical and psychological department.

Panic attacks. Whom to contact and how a neurologist can help?

Over the past 2 years, much has changed in the life of all mankind. We have to adapt to new, sometimes very difficult, conditions. From TV and the Internet, we are constantly pressed with disturbing news and not the best forecasts, or the unknown in the future.

Someone copes with this easily and is ready for change, while someone falls into a state of panic and cannot do anything about it. The normal reaction of people when faced with the difficulties of life is to try to understand what is happening and what to do with it next.

Our body is a mirror of our mental state and reflects these problems in the form of symptoms that are difficult to distinguish from serious diseases of organic origin.

On one not the best day, a person is faced with a new state for himself and begins to suspect that 9 has covered him0155 panic attack . Let's figure out what it is, how to survive this state and not go crazy (despite the fact that before that you clearly controlled everything in life) and what strategy to develop in order to emerge victorious from this situation.

Panic attack (panic) is a short-term episode of intense anxiety with a sudden onset, reaching a maximum within a few minutes, accompanied by anxiety or fear of death, loss of control, combined with severe disturbances in the work of the heart, respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract.

If this condition begins to recur (with symptoms varying slightly), then doctors are already talking about panic disorder or episodic paroxysmal anxiety . Unfortunately, the patient quickly develops a fear of waiting for an attack.

Signs of a panic attack

  • Heart . The characteristic onset of an attack is accompanied by symptoms from the cardiovascular system - with a sudden onset of a "strong heartbeat", a feeling of "interruptions", "stop", discomfort or pain in the region of the heart.

  • Pressure . Most panic attacks are accompanied by a rise in blood pressure, the numbers of which can be quite high.

  • Choke . The most pronounced violations in the respiratory system: shortness of breath, a feeling of lack of air with shortness of breath and hyperventilation, "a feeling of suffocation." Describing an attack, patients report that they “caught their throat”, “the air stopped flowing”, “it became stuffy”.

  • Indigestion . Gastrointestinal disturbances such as nausea, vomiting, belching, epigastric discomfort, feeling of fullness or abdominal pain may also be observed. As a rule, at the time of a panic attack, dizziness, sweating, tremor with a feeling of chills, “waves” of heat and cold, paresthesia, coldness of the hands and feet are observed.

  • Appearance . Changes in complexion, pulse rate, fluctuations in blood pressure are objectively determined, and dissociation is often found between the subjective experience of autonomic disorders by patients and their severity during an objective examination.

The disease can develop slowly, over months or years, or it can develop quickly, over days or weeks.

As panic attacks continue, they can be associated with various life circumstances, which become, as it were, conditioned stimuli. Attacks can be repeated in similar situations in which the attack occurred for the first time (metro, transport, loneliness), fear is formed in anticipation of an attack.

How can you help yourself with a panic attack?

  1. Analyze the situation . If you have the above symptoms, you must first determine whether this is a panic attack as a one-time occurrence against the background of stress (illness) or there is a fixation of panic and you will clearly need medical help.
  2. Focus on your breath . Remember that the first first aid is to go out into the air, deeply and consciously begin to breathe. If there is no way to walk, then just lie down, take a comfortable position, breathe deeply and slowly.
  3. Don't be alone . Do not hesitate to ask for help from those who are nearby, do not hide your condition. Discuss what happened. Don't be alone with the problem!
  4. Make an appointment with a doctor . If the episodes recur, a doctor can help resolve the problem. Before taking, think about the circumstances under which seizures occur. These can be:
  • viewing disturbing news;
  • conversation with a friend, quarrel with relatives;
  • situation at work with colleagues;
  • study exam;
  • watching movies;
  • travel by public transport, elevator, etc. ).

Panic attack treatment by a neurologist

Many people ask the question: how and how can a neurologist help me? It's forever. Nothing like this! It is a myth. Panic attacks are very well treated. If you think about it, it's time to contact a neurologist and strictly follow his recommendations.
  • The doctor will examine you,
  • will conduct tests,
  • will listen carefully, ask specific questions,
  • will match the symptoms and facts of your life,
  • will prescribe a basic treatment that will immediately start working.
  • If necessary, will prescribe additional examinations.

The doctor will tell you how to act in your individual situation!

  1. If at the appointment he reveals violations of the cardiovascular system that are clearly permanent in nature, he will refer you to a cardiologist, for an ECG, for monitoring heart rate (Holter). This is necessary to determine if there is a pathology of the heart and whether it is necessary to take control of the heart rhythm and heart rate with medication.
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