The Frightening Symptoms of Panic Attacks
Fortunately, I have never experienced a panic attack myself, but my wife has and it is a very frightening and unpleasant thing to see. It is sometimes dismissed by medical professionals as ‘just a panic attack’. They know that it is not life threatening and that sooner or later, the sufferer will return to normal, with no physical effects.
That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that when you are in the grip of an attack, it feels very real, and you can well believe that you are in danger. The symptoms of panic attacks may be triggered by your anxious thoughts, and they may be just the result of natural processes in your body. But they are no less real for all that.
The fight or flight response is designed to protect you in times of danger. It floods your bloodstream with adrenalin. It increases your pulse rate and quickens your breathing. Your muscles are being suffused with oxygen in preparation for intense physical activity. If you were suddenly confronted by a lion, you might understand that you are now in a resourceful state to deal with the situation.
But what if this happens when you are relaxing at home, even in bed? Your heart is pounding, your breathing is rapid, your skin is cold and clammy. Muscles are tense or trembling. And all this is happening for no apparent reason. What is the cause? Are you having a heart attack? It can certainly feel like it.
There can be other symptoms such as tingling sensations in various parts of the body. Hot flushes and nausea. You may feel dizzy or light headed, or have a feeling of detachment from reality, as if in a dream. Or you may experience extreme fear, loss of control or even fear of death.
It is not surprising that many people end up in the emergency room, only to be told that it is just a panic attack’. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. It can be the beginning of your recovery. You might have been convinced that you were having a heart attack. At least you can set your mind at rest, that it is not that or some other life threatening condition.
That is a good first step on the road to recovery. One insidious aspect of panic attacks is that the fear of another attack actually makes it more likely. At least you now know that the symptoms, even though they are very real and upsetting, don’t represent any physical danger. This in itself can help to reduce the fear factor.
The best methods of permanently ending panic attacks are based on addressing the underlying anxiety state that tends to lead to the attacks. Though the symptoms are physical, the cause is usually in the way we think about certain aspects of life. The problem is not the situation but how we feel about it, and that is something that we can change.
