Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder is the name of the emotional problem that brings about panic attacks. It is a true illness but can be treated successfully.

Characteristics of this illness include sudden attacks of being terrified. This is usually combined with a racing or pounding heart, profuse sweating, faintness, weakness, or dizziness.

Panic attacks may also be signaled by tingling or numbness in the hands, accompanied by nausea, chest pain, and feeling smothered. Sufferers usually also experience a fear of something horrible about to happen, or that they may lose control. It also may seem that they are not in reality.

Another symptom of Panic Disorder is the fear a person has of his or her own explained physical symptoms. Sometimes people feel as if they are having heart attacks, or simply losing their minds. There can also be a feeling of being sure they are about to die. Since these episodes cannot be predicted, sufferers often spend much of the time between attacks worrying about and dreading the next one.

You don’t have to be awake to suffer from a panic attack. These can happen to you even while you are sleeping. Most attacks usually last about 10 minutes, but some of the symptoms can linger. It is estimated that 6 million Americans have Panic Disorder. Women are affected twice as much as men.

The onset of panic attacks can be in late adolescence to early adulthood. However, not everyone who has an attack will have others. It is also been shown that this is an inherited affliction.

Most people who go through panic attacks over and over again tend to become rather disabled by this condition. Therefore, it is vital to seek treatment before this disorder starts to limit them to the point they avoid going out at all. There are many different treatments available to treat Panic Disorder, but you have to find the courage to ask for the help you need.

Your doctor can prescribe medication for the anxiety that is causing your panic attacks. Once the correct medication is prescribed and the proper dosage is adjusted, you can begin to stop dreading those attacks, and enjoy life again. There are also many natural or herbal remedies that have worked for a great many people that you can try. Other methods to fend off these debilitating attacks include aerobic exercise, running, walking, meditation, and just sitting down and drinking a nice cup of chamomile tea.

Whatever method you choose to try, don’t be embarrassed to let others support you in your efforts to conquer this problem. It is possible to live a perfectly normal life with the proper treatment.