Panic Disorder And Panic Attack Symptoms

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is a mental disorder characterized by recurrent unexpected panic attacks and therefore the individual’s response to those attacks. A scare may be a surge of intense fear and discomfort that sometimes peaks within ten minutes, but can last as long as several hours.

Panic Attack Symptoms

Panic attacks are related to the subsequent physiological and cognitive symptoms.

Heart palpitations
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Shortness of breath
Feelings of choking
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea or abdominal distress
Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed, or faint
Chills or heat sensations
Numbness or tingling sensations
Feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself
Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
Fear of dying
Individuals with an anxiety disorder also become persistently worried about having future attacks (e.g. having an attack, “going crazy”) or change their behavior significantly to avoid having panic attacks (e.g. avoidance of unfamiliar situations). Like other mental disorders, these symptoms can cause a big amount of distress and impairment in lifestyle.

Panic Attack or Heart Attack?

Part of anxiety disorder is worrying about the results of the panic attacks. many of us mistake panic attacks for heart attacks thanks to their similarities. A cardiac pain (as experienced in heart attacks) is usually brought on by movement or exertion while a scare isn't usually related to exercise. People with cardiac pain also can become winded from any amount of exercise whereas those with an anxiety disorder are unaffected by exercise. Cardiac chest pains also are related to older ages and a history of more numerous medical conditions in comparison to anxiety disorder.

Panic Attacks versus anxiety disorder

It is important to notice that the mere presence of panic attacks isn't sufficient to satisfy the criteria for diagnosing anxiety disorder. A scare is a generalized anxiety disorder that will occur in other anxiety disorders or anxiety-provoking situations for people without anxiety disorders.

Panic disorder infrequently occurs in the absence of other mental disorders. People with anxiety disorder often produce other anxiety disorders, major depression, manic depression, and mild alcohol use disorder. Reported lifetime rates of co-occurrence between major depression and anxiety disorder range from 10 to 65 percent. anxiety disorder also frequently co-occurs with other medical conditions, like dizziness, cardiac arrhythmias, hyperthyroidism, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.

How Common Is Panic Disorder?

The one-year prevalence of anxiety disorder is 2 to three percent within the US and European countries. Asian, African, and Latin American countries have lower prevalence rates, starting from 0.1 to 0.8 percent. Females are twice as likely to be affected than males, and therefore the gender difference is observed as early as adolescence. The median age of onset for anxiety disorder within the US is 20-24 years. a little percentage of cases first occur in childhood or later adulthood.

What Causes Panic Disorder?

The exact causes of anxiety disorder are unknown. Certain genes may confer vulnerability to anxiety disorder, though the precise genes and mechanisms are unknown. Children of oldsters with anxiety, depressive, and bipolar disorders have higher rates of anxiety disorder. Brain models of anxiety disorder emphasize the brain structures involved in anxiety and fear.

Ethnic and Cultural Differences

In the US, Latinos, African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and Asian Americans report lower rates of anxiety disorder than non-Latino whites. Native Americans report the very best rates. Asian, African, and Latin American countries also report lower rates of anxiety disorder than the US and European countries. These disparities are often partially explained by different cultures’ treatment of fears and attribution of panic attacks. samples of culture-specific characterizations related to panic attacks include trúng gió (“hit by the wind”) in Vietnamese culture, Ataque de nervios (“attack of nerves”) among Latin Americans, and khyâl (“soul loss”) among Cambodians.

Treatment of anxiety disorder

Both medication and psychotherapy can effectively treat anxiety disorder. Medications typically prescribed are anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants. a mixture of medication and psychotherapy is found to be best.