PANIC ATTACKS

"I’m losing control....." "I feel like I’m going crazy....." "I must be having a heart attack....." "I’m smothering and I can’t breathe....." "It came upon me by surprise. I began to feel wave after wave of fear and my stomach gave out on me. I could hear my heart pounding so loudly I thought it would come out of my chest. Pains were shooting down my legs. I became so afraid I couldn’t catch my breath. What was happening to me? Was I having a heart attack? Was I dying?" Panic attacks are very real, very awful, and emotionally debilitating. Many people who experience their first panic attack find themselves at hospital emergency rooms......or at doctors’ offices -- prepared to hear the very worst news possible about their health. When they don’t hear that they’ve had a life-threatening condition (such as a heart attack), this news may actually increase their anxiety and frustration: ".....if I am physically OK, what happened to me? I experienced something so dreadful I can’t even explain it. So what’s happening to me?" If a person with panic is undiagnosed, they can bounce around from doctor to doctor for years on end without experiencing any relief. Instead, it becomes more and more frustrating to the panic sufferer as no one is able to pinpoint the problem and provide any relief. anic are very real, the anxiety is so traumatizing, and the whole experience is new and strange, a panic attack is one of the worst experiences a person can have. On top of the attack, there is always the nagging uncertainty, "When will this happen to me again?" Some people become so frightened of having additional panic attacks, especially in public, that they withdraw to their "safe zones", usually their homes, and very rarely leave them. This condition is known as agoraphobia. Note that the person with agoraphobia does not enjoy having their life so restricted; it is a depressing and miserable existence. It is the fear of having further panic attacks that keeps them bound close to home. Over four million Americans suffer from panic attacks, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. That number is about 5% of the adult American population. Many researchers feel that even this number is a low estimate, because many people who experience panic attacks never receive the proper diagnosis and "live" with it, despite its horror and its constant terror.

What is a panic attack? A panic attack can only be described as a comprehensive emotional nightmare. Some people with panic feel like they are in an escalating cycle of catastrophe and doom and that something bad is going to happen to them "right now this very moment." Others feel as if they are having a heart attack as their heart races. The heart palpitations convince them that they are about to have an attack. Other people feel that they are going to "lose control" of themselves and will do something embarrassing in front of other people. Others breathe so quickly, gasping for air, that they hyperventilate and feel like they will suffocate from lack of oxygen.

Common symptoms of panic include: a racing or pounding heartbeat dizziness and lightheadedness feeling that "I can’t catch my breath" chest pains or a "heaviness" in the chest flushes or chills tingling in the hands, feet, legs, arms jumpiness, trembling, twitching muscles sweaty palms, flushed face terror fear of losing control fear of a stroke that will lead to disability fear of dying fear of going crazy A panic attack typically lasts several long minutes and is one of the most distressing conditions a person can experience. In some cases, panic attacks have been known to last for longer periods of time or to recur very quickly over and over again.

The aftermath of a panic attack is very painful. Feelings of depression and helplessness are usually experienced. The greatest fear is that the panic attack will come back again and again, making life too miserable to bear.