Panic Anxiety Disorder and Strategies for Treatment

Panic anxiety disorder is a mental conditon whereby a patient experiences panic attacks regularly. People going through this difficult condition will abruptly have feelings of panic that seems to come out of nowhere. There is no apparent pattern showing when and where the attacks will happen.

Panic attack disorder is known to strike about 3 million individuals in America alone. Suffering through a panic attack is horrid enough, but often these people spend the time in between attacks worrying when the second one will appear. It is known to happen much more frequently in women than in males.

How do I recognise if I am having a panic attack? We know that a panic attack can happen at anytime and anywhere. When a panic attack occurs, the symptoms may mimic those of a heart attack.

No one can anticipate how long a panic attack will last. Sometimes an attack can carry on for a long time, while others are done with in a few minutes. Whatever the nature of the panic anxiety attack, it causes a set of symptoms so distressful that they cause the sufferer to fear having another attack - a fear which can in turn cause them to in fact have one.

There are two separate kinds of panic disorders:

• Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia -- People in this category have an extreme fear of having another panic attack and try to deflect any probable causes of their anxiety. If you have this type of panic attack disorder, you may be so paralyzed with fear of having another attack that you do not desire to depart your dwelling.
• Panic Disorder Without Fearing Public Places -- This category of panic attack disorder contains many of the same symptoms, except these individuals can depart their homes without experiencing inordinate anxiety. The fear is present most of the time, but it is not as disabling as the first type.

Panic Disorder Causes

How does someone develop a panic disorder? We do not yet understand the exact cause of a panic disorder. Some doctors believe that this condition is inherited. Other things that can activate a panic attack are undergoing an adverse period or a major transition in your life. Panic disorder causes may also include medical problems such as low blood sugar, a dysfunctioning thyroid, or withdrawal from a powerful drug. Panic disorder causes may also include the long-term employment of drugs such as cocaine and speed.

Overcoming Panic Disorder

Panic disorder treatment can help you suppress your fears.The treatment includes therapy, medication, learning methods to unbend, self-help measures, and professional direction. Research has proven that exposure therapy can be effective, in which a patient is exposed to the physical feelings of a panic attack to show them how to cope when an actual attack hits.

Suffering from a panic anxiety disorder can interfere with your maturation and development into a normal human being. This disorder is oftentimes unmanageable, but with the correct course of treatment, you can be set loose from the absorbing terror you absolutely don't deserve.