The Major Reasons For Panic Symptoms And Attacks

Many people who suffer from panic attacks say that this is even worse than a heart attack. Panic symptoms in fact often closely mimic that of a heart attack. Let us briefly discuss the nature of panic attacks.

As mentioned before, these can be very similar to a heart attack. The patient will experience a rapid heart rate or heart palpitations. There will sometimes be chest pains and often you will feel as if you can't breathe. Sufferers will often also experience numbness in certain parts of the body, hot flushes and muscle pains.

Many experience increased sweating during a panic attack. Another symptom that is quite common, is that the person will feel an intense weakness in his legs and arms. Very often patients get the feeling that they are dying or going crazy. Feelings of nausea and dizziness are also not unusual.

Panic attacks very often go hand in hand with depression. The sufferer will experience feelings of deep despair and thoughts of death can be quite prevalent. Suicide thoughts are also very common.

The causes of panic or anxiety attacks can be numerous. In a very large percentage of cases the exact cause is never established. In some cases it can be traced back to certain foods or beverages, such as drinking too much coffee or taking in too much sugar. Menopause and other hormonal imbalances can also sometimes contribute to panic attacks.

Attacks are sometimes triggered by a specific situation, such as being in a confined space, being exposed to great heights or being close to a large body of water. Very often people suffer from what is called general anxiety disorder, where even something mundane like watching television can trigger an attack.

Medications to alleviate this type of attack include certain anti-depressants and also beta blockers, tranquilizers and the so-called benzodiazepines. Many people experience a pre-panic attack while anticipating the symptoms of their next panic attack, which of course only worsens their situation. Some medications are specifically aimed at alleviating these anticipatory anxiety symptoms. Others work on the anxiety attack itself.

When you realize that what you experience are panic symptoms, the important thing to understand is that it won't kill you. What you experience is a malfunctioning of your body's alarm system. It's similar to a car alarm going off in an quiet car park with nobody near the car - there is no reason for you to feel this way, it has no basis in real life. Sit down, breathe deeply and regularly and wait for it to pass.

Treatment that does not require medication

There are several treatments for panic disorder and panic symtoms,that don't require medication.

Once such treatment is Panic Away.