Panic Disorder – Women More Prone to Panic Attacks

It is believed that as many as 30 percent of people who visit their doctor or hospital emergency unit complaining of chest pains, may actually be experiencing anxiety or panic attack symptoms, and not heart attacks or stroke. Once correctly diagnosed,  panic disorders can be treated  using a variety of anxiety medications, or more recently the preferred option, at least initially, is psychotherapy and behavioral or cognitive therapies.

Pounding heart, dizziness and sheer terror for no apparent reason are among the symptoms of a panic attack or anxiety disorder that strikes mostly women.

Three million or more Americans suffer from panic disorder which was recognized as a distinct psychiatric condition 12 years ago. Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said 75 percent of those who suffer from panic disorder do not get the help they need – although a variety of therapies can lift the paralyzing fear for 70 percent to 90 percent of sufferers.

Panic disorder, which usually surfaces during teen-age years or early 20s, affects twice as many women as men. An attack may last only seconds or minutes, but leaves a victim unsteady for some time afterward.

Fear of Anticipation

Frequently, the anticipation of having subsequent attacks is more frightening than an attack itself.

Panic disorder is diagnosed when either an unprovoked episode of at least four of the following symptoms occurs within one month, or when one such attack is followed by persistent fear of having another:

• Intense terror
• Sweating
• Numbness or tingling, especially in the hands or feet
• Hot or cold flashes
• Shortness of breath
• Faintness
• Heart palpitations
• Trembling
• Chest discomfort
• Feelings of unreality
• Nausea
• Choking or smothering sensations
• Fear of losing control, going crazy or dying

Sufferers may be overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom and a feeling of unreality. They often think they are having a stroke, heart attack or that they’re losing their mind, as the chest pains they are experiencing can also be a symptom of a panic attack. Some manage to function. Others are forced to give up their jobs and relationships. Many treat their condition with alcohol or illicit drugs. As many as 20 percent of these people may attempt suicide, according to Myrna Weissman, professor of epidemiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City.

A substantial number of panic disorder sufferers develop agoraphobia, avoiding situations where they imagine an attack might occur or where help or escape would be difficult. Agoraphobics may be unable to eat in restaurants, travel in cars or planes, cross wide streets or shop in supermarkets. Some may not venture outside their homes.

The exact cause of panic disorder is unclear, but researchers believe the unpredictable attacks are prompted by a biochemical abnormality. Often the first attacks are triggered by physical or emotional stress involving loss or separation

Two parallel tracks in  treating panic disorder  have evolved over the last 12 years – medication and behavioural or cognitive therapies. Increasingly experts acknowledge that patients frequently need a combination of drugs and psychotherapy.

There is no one best approach for all patients. Treatment most be tailored to the individual. Some therapists are now trying a new behavioural technique called  panic control treatment , in which the physical sensations of fear are aroused in the therapist’s office after a sufferer is taught coping stills.

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How Anxiety Attacks Are Triggered -  Treatment for panic attacks 

One of the most important things about anxiety attacks is what triggers them. How will one deal with it and how small changes can help improve your life. This article will also discuss on what you should expect when seeking professional treatment and also what are the  other options  out there for you.

When seeking professional  help for anxiety attack ; a patient is usually inquired on the following aspect of his or her life, in order to find out what triggers the attacks.

1. Environmental condition
2. Family’s medical condition
3. Own personality
4. Brain chemistry
5. Past trauma

Other than the mentioned areas of a patient’s life, there are other reasons that can trigger anxiety attack such as chronic fatigue, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic headaches, sleep apnea, thyroid disorders, adrenal disorders, diabetes, asthma, ulcers, hypertension, Ritalin, migraines, particular heart conditions, drugs, epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal, inhalers/respiratory medications, weight loss drugs, steroids, etc.

The environment in which the patient lives in can cause anxiety attacks. For example, it may be poverty, broken family or dangerous neighborhood. Even substance abuse within family member can be the cause too as well as mental disorders.

The patient’s personality also plays a major role. People with low self esteem for instance are prone to these attacks mainly because low self esteem leads to self criticism that in the end can leave the person feeling hopeless and threaten. The brain monitors the amount of feel good hormone and stressor hormones and should there be an imbalance in these hormones, this will create a problem.

Anxiety attacks can also be linked to traumatic events the patient’s had in the past. These events could be abuse, war or even natural disasters.

A patient should substantially reduce the intake of coffee, sugar and alcohol anxiety attacks. Regular exercise, drinking plenty of clean water and getting enough rest and sleep are the best lifestyle to adopt because unhealthy lifestyle can often lead to anxiety, so do take the step to  cure anxiety attacks  today.

A healthier lifestyle, coupled with treatment from qualified professionals will bring positive result for the patient. In any case, the patient should also adopt a positive attitude. The patient should be very supportive towards themselves in order to recover.

It takes a lot of will and courage to start making this significant changes to yourself. Take it one step at a time, starting with making an appointment with a health professional. Just remember, it is never too late to start.

It is not impossible of course, but it will take a reasonable amount of time so perseverance will be good to have. The effort that you put in will no doubt determine how fast you will recover too. And how much effort you will contribute will depend on how much you want to recover. Still, try to remain in balance by not getting hard or negative on yourself. Knowing that you are a victim of such unfortunate self attacks, it is possible that you start feeling negative again, so remind yourself that you are only human.

Decide your own pace of recovery and as long as you feel comfortable with your progress, move on and if you feel they burden you in any way, stop. Everything should be in perspective. Don’t attempt to do something that will put pressure on yourself because you will trigger anxiety attacks again.

Also try to form supportive networks if you did not already. Keep in touch with friends who care about you. Better yet, form a gathering of like people as these are the people who truly know what you are going through. You don’t really have to form one group of your own if you can join an existing one. The secret to success for such groups lie in regular meetings and their commitment for each other.

The road to recovery or to stop anxiety attacks lies within your mind. You have the strength to do it and it is an even pleasant journey if you surround yourself with the people who support you as well as understand what you go through.

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 Defusing Panic Attacks

How a Hypnotherapist can assist you in  defusing panic attacks  using Hypnotherapy and NLP.

Having worked with a variety of people who have panic attacks on a regular basis in my practice in St Albans, I have found that a large number of them also are outgoing, happy- go -lucky individuals at other times during their day to day life. Many of them are the "clown" or entertainer when in a social setting, or work in sales, for example. For many of them, there are very few people around them who are aware of their panic attacks and would never suspect a thing, because they just do not seem to be the "sort of person" to suffer from such a problem.

There are many different techniques that can be used to help those who suffer from panic attacks, and some therapies work better on some people than others. Personally, as a therapist based in St Albans, I find EFT, Hypnosis and some NLP techniques such as anchoring are usually helpful to know, as it is likely that one of these skills will be suitable for the client. However, in the situation described above, where the person has this dichotomous character ("sometimes I feel very calm and extroverted, other times I feel blind panic") it is worth exploring the NLP technique known as a parts integration.

A "Parts problem" occurs when there is a significant emotional event that occurs, or a serious of mild emotional events that occur in which a client has failed to enforce a boundary. What is meant by boundary enforcement is context dependent- sometimes we fail to say "no, I don’t want to…" and do something against our will. Sometimes we do not or are not able to enforce physical boundaries. Sometimes our boundaries are violated because we are too young, or too trusting to be able to speak up and say what we really want or feel.

Imagine that all of the negative emotion related to that memory, are stored in your system. But rather than having those negative feelings floating all over your nervous system, your body houses them all together within a boundary, (in the same way that it might do with the poison from a cyst or blister for example.) The boundary with the negative emotion inside is called a part, and it is apart from the rest of the nervous system.

Whenever the nervous system "gets word from the outside" by seeing, hearing, feeling, recalling (and to a certain degree even tasting or smelling) some kind of trigger that relates to that parts existence; the part springs into action. This will have the effect of the person feeling all of the emotions, experiencing all of the behaviour and reacting with all of the characteristics associated with that parts existence without regard for the "normal" behaviour and character of that person.

Let say for example that the behavior associated with that part is "blind panic." It would go some way to explain the incongruence that the person who is usually confident experiences- "sometimes I’m really confident, sometimes I’m panicking about something insignificant…"

A parts integration works by establishing the highest intentions of both parts (the panic part and the confident part.) The highest intentions are almost always the same as each other and are simply using different behaviors in order to be met. Once they have been established as the same, and positive, the problem part can find new empowering ways of being met and the two parts can be re-integrated. This is a truly magic technique to witness.

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