Panic disorder is a condition where one experiences repeated unanticipated panic attacks. People who have the disorder stay in fear of experiencing panic attacks. One may have a panic attack when they experience sudden, overwhelming fright with no definite cause. A panic attack’s physical symptoms include sweating, having difficulty in breathing, and a racing heartbeat. According to the American Psychological Association, many people undergo a panic attack once or twice in their lives, and mostly one out of seventy-five people experiences panic disorder. The paper will discuss the causes of panic disorders, signs and symptoms of panic disorder, the diagnosis of panic disorder, and the treatments required for panic disorders.
Even though the symptoms of panic disorder are pretty frightening and overwhelming, the condition can be improved with treatment. Symptoms of the disorder often start to appear in youths under the age of twenty-five years. If one experiences a panic attack or even live-in fear of experiencing another panic disorder, they might have panic disorder. The attacks produce enormous fear that begins abruptly (Miralles, 2020). The attack experiences and symptoms vary from one person to another. Common symptoms experiences include a racing heartbeat, difficulty in breathing, nausea, choking, sweating, trembling, reform of mental state where there is a feeling of unreality, numbness, chest pains, and the feeling of one might die. These panic attack symptoms often happen for no reason. The symptoms are not compatible with the amount of danger that exists in that environment at that moment.
The cause of panic attacks has not been recognized. Research shows that panic disorders may be genetically connected. However, panic disorder may also be connected with a remarkable transformation in a person’s life (Quagliato & Nardi, 2018). For example, graduating from college, getting a spouse, or even having a first-born kid are all major transformations that may develop stress and lead to the development of panic disorder.
According to the national institute of health, information about the disorder does not clearly show which group is at risk of developing the disorder. However, most women are twice as likely as males to develop panic attack conditions (Yonkers et al., 2017). Anxiety affects females more than males. Females have metacognitive beliefs about the uncontrollability of anxiety. The female gender tends to worry too much about something than males.
Diagnosis of panic attacks can be made through seeking medical care. Often many people that experience a panic attack for the first time tend to think that they are experiencing a heart attack. In emergency care, several tests are done to examine if the symptoms are causing a heart attack to diagnose panic disorder. They run different blood tests to rule out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms (Wichmann et al., 2017). If there is no emergency basis in the symptoms, one will be referred back to the doctor where mental health examination is done, and the doctor asks one on one questions concerning the symptoms. Before diagnosing the panic disorder, the doctor will have to rule out other medical disorders from the test results and a mental examination.
Treatment of panic disorder primarily major on decreasing or eliminating the symptoms of the health issue. Treatment is done through therapy with a qualified professional and, in other instances, prescription of medication. The therapy mainly involves cognitive behavioral therapy that teaches the patient ways of changing their actions and thoughts, understanding risks, and managing fear. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the best treatment for panic attacks. They include fluoxetine, sertraline which is an antidepressant prescribed for panic disorder, and paroxetine (Perna & Caldirola, 2017). In addition, there are several steps one takes from home to decrease the symptoms. The steps include keeping up with a consistent schedule, consistent exercising, having enough sleep, and avoiding stimulants such as caffeine.
The long-term prospect of this disorder is that the disease is long-term that can be hard to treat because most people with the disorder do not respond positively to the treatment. Some people may sometimes show no symptoms, while other times, they portray quite severe symptoms (Van Dis et al., 2020). Nevertheless, many people with panic disorder will show some symptom relaxation through the treatment.
Panic disorder is associated with agoraphobia, where agoraphobia is the fear of involving oneself with public places and open places. In addition, it is believed that agoraphobia develops as an issue of panic attacks and panic disorder (Hofmeijer-Sevink, 2017). Agoraphobia appears in the first recurrent of attacks. If one is agoraphobic, they are afraid of experiencing a panic attack in a place where escape would be hard or embarrassing or can’t access help. Because of such fears, one starts avoiding public places or going anywhere without somebody who makes them feel safe.
Panic disorder may not be likely prevented; however, one can reduce the symptoms by avoiding stimulants such as caffeine and illegal drugs. One should also note helpful actions whenever they experience distressing symptoms that may follow a distressing life episode (Livermore et al., 2019). If one is stressed, they should seek help from a doctor before the condition can worsen, which affects them health wise.
To sum up, seeing someone suffering a panic attack can be terrifying, whereby they may show severe symptoms of a panic attack or maybe think it’s a heart attack. Regardless of how unreasonable one may their panicked response to the condition, it is significant to know that the danger seems very real to the person. Simply asking them to calm down or decline their fear won’t help, but helping them can help them feel less fear full or Rideout a panic attack in the future.
References
Hofmeijer-Sevink, M. K., Duits, P., Rijkeboer, M. M., Hoogendoorn, A. W., Van Megen, H. J., Vulink, N. C.,… & Cath, D. C. (2017). No effects of D-cycloserine enhancement in exposure with response prevention therapy in panic disorder with agoraphobia: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Journal of clinical psychopharmacology, 37(5), 531-539.
Livermore, N., Sharpe, L., & McKenzie, D. (2010). Prevention of panic attacks and panic disorder in COPD. European Respiratory Journal, 35(3), 557-563.
Miralles, I., Granell, C., García-Palacios, A., Castilla, D., González-Pérez, A., Casteleyn, S., & Bretón-López, J. (2020). Enhancing in vivo exposure in the treatment of panic disorder and agoraphobia using location-based technologies: A case study. Clinical Case Studies, 19(2), 145-159.
Perna, G., & Caldirola, D. (2017). Management of treatment-resistant panic disorder. Current treatment options in psychiatry, 4(4), 371-386.
Quagliato, L. A., & Nardi, A. E. (2018). Cytokine alterations in panic disorder: A systematic review. Journal of affective disorders, 228, 91-96
Van Dis, E. A., Van Veen, S. C., Hagenaars, M. A., Batelaan, N. M., Bockting, C. L., Van Den Heuvel, R. M.,… & Engelhard, I. M. (2020). Long-term outcomes of cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety-related disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(3), 265-273.
Wichmann, S., Kirschbaum, C., Böhme, C., & Petrowski, K. (2017). Cortisol stress response in post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and major depressive disorder patients. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 83, 135-141.
Yonkers, K. A., Gilstad-Hayden, K., Forray, A., & Lipkind, H. S. (2017). Association of panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and benzodiazepine treatment during pregnancy with the risk of adverse birth outcomes. JAMA Psychiatry, 74(11), 1145-1152