Fear is a normal part of life. It drives humans to achieve great things, stay alive in difficult circumstances, and is fun to experience on roller coasters and during horror movies. When fear because to spiral out of control, however, it can become problematic. People begin to worry about more things and this heightens their average anxiety levels during the day. Certain triggers may then cause a panic attack with real physical symptoms. Some describe the feeling like it is a heart attack.
Knowing the important panic disorder facts here will help people recognize their own symptoms or be able to support someone having a panic attack. About 7 million Americans have at least one panic attack every year, so it isn’t as rare as some may think.
1. They Can Happen Very Suddenly
Although there are panic attacks that have some recognizable triggers and feelings that can let someone know an attack is going to happen, they can also occur very suddenly. A feeling of disaster or a loss of control are the two most common traits associated with a panic attack. People with a panic disorder will then experience this feeling multiple times over the course of a year. In severe cases, panic disorder can cause several attacks per day.
2. No One Really Knows Why They Happen
Researchers have noticed that there does seem to be a trend where panic disorder can run in a family. There isn’t any conclusive proof, however, as to why some people can have regular panic attacks and others won’t have any. Current research is focused on the anxiety centers of the mind to see how it responds to specific stimuli and how that response could be modified with medication or cognitive approaches.
3. Panic Disorder Doesn’t Need to Have Any Symptoms
Panic attacks don’t have to cause physical symptoms to be bothersome. People with this disorder may choose to avoid places where they suspect that they’d have a panic attack. With everything a potential trigger, some people with this disorder choose to stay inside their homes for a majority of each day.
4. It’s a Cyclical Problem
The reason why panic disorder is such a problematic condition is because it feeds itself. Once someone has a panic attack, they begin to worry about what may happen during future attacks. They begin to become anxious about when they might have another attack. One another attack doesn’t occur, the anticipation of having one helps to fuel more anxiety. When enough stress has built up, then a full-fledged panic attack will occur and then the cycle just starts over again.
5. It’s a 10 Minute Ordeal At Minimum
For most people, their panic attack will peak after about 10 minutes of intense anxiety. Sometimes the physical symptoms of a panic attack can last much longer than the emotional symptoms. These anxieties then begin to affect the quality of a person’s life. If someone feels like they’d be triggered in an elevator, for example, then they won’t live in apartments that can’t be comfortably reached by climbing the stairs or choose a job that would require elevator use.
6. Panic Disorder Affects the Quality of a Person’s Sleep
Panic attacks don’t just happen when someone is awake. A dream state can also become the trigger for a panic attack. This goes beyond the basic nightmares that everyone has at some point in their life. Panic disorder can create a tangible dream environment which causes the physical symptoms of a panic attack. People may wake up from their dream having a full-blown panic attack because of the internal triggers of the dream.
7. Panic Attacks Aren’t A Guarantee of Developing Panic Disorder
When someone has a panic attack, it does not mean that they have a panic disorder. Even having more than one panic attack over a 12 month period does not guarantee a panic disorder diagnosis. There must be several panic attacks, they must be uncontrolled, and they must occur in various environments where there may not even be a trigger present. Most people who have a panic attack will not have another one, even if they worry about it for some time.
8. Sometimes Help is Needed
About 70% of people who have a panic disorder are able to confront their anxieties and fears on their own. For the other 30% of sufferers, they will need the help of a loved one or a trusted friend to get them through the attack. For those who have panic disorder and seek out early treatment alternatives, the chances of having their fears reach the point of needing help with an intervention are greatly reduced.
9. Panic Disorder Often Causes Substance Abuse
It is very common for people who are suffering from a panic disorder to seek self-treatment options before seeing a doctor or a cognitive behavioral therapist for assistance. Most self-treatment options include alcohol and drugs. It is also very common for someone with a panic disorder to also suffer from depression. All of these conditions must be treated separately on a treatment plan in order for wellness to be achieved.
10. Recovery Doesn’t Happen Right Away
If panic disorder can be recognized, then it can be treated. It isn’t something that is going to go away in a few days. Healing from this issue can take several months. For some with severe forms of panic disorder, treatment could stake several years. As long as someone is committed to changing and is consistent with their medications and therapy sessions, progress can be made every week.
Living with a panic disorder isn’t really a way to live. It forces people to live in an almost constant state of paranoia. With an early diagnosis and an effective treatment plan that encompasses all of the issues a person faces, however, the panic disorder doesn’t have to win. A panic attack really can just become a distant memory.