A anxiety attack or panic attack it is an intense episode of anxiety that is usually accompanied by fear. You feel how your heart is racing, you cannot breathe, you feel that you are going crazy or even that you may die. If left untreated, panic attacks can develop into a panic disorder and interfere with the person's life by avoiding certain situations in their daily life. With proper treatment, anxiety attacks can be reduced or eliminated. In this Psychology-Online article, we explain anxiety attacks, their symptoms and treatment.
An anxiety attack is a intense episode of fear characterized by being unexpected, tiring and disabling. It usually appears suddenly. Sometimes, there is no clear trigger for the attack, it can occur at any time, when you are doing sports, while you are traveling ...
An anxiety attack can be an isolated episode, but many people often experience episodes several times. Usually, panic attacks repeated are triggered by a specific stimulus, like getting into an elevator, and if that stimulus has already caused an anxiety attack at another time, the probability is higher. Generally, an anxiety crisis occurs when the person feels fear and cannot find a way to avoid the feared situation.
Anxiety attacks can occur as something independent or these anxiety attacks may occur as part of another disorder such as depression, social phobia... Whether the anxiety attack occurs independently or in the context of a disorder, it is treatable.
An anxiety attack can present a wide variety of symptoms, since each person is different, but some general symptoms They are:
- Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
- Tachycardia.
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Shaking.
- Feeling of suffocation or shortness of breath.
- Sweating
- Nausea or upset stomach.
- Feel dizzy.
- Numbness and tingling sensations.
- Hot or cold flashes.
- Fear of losing control, of dying ...
An anxiety crisis can appear at any time: while driving, studying, playing sports ...
The physical symptoms of an anxiety attack must be differentiated from those physical symptoms whose origin is a physical pathology.
Many of the symptoms of an anxiety attack are physical, and in many cases the symptoms are as that the person thinks they are having a heart attack, due to the similarity of the symptom. Many people who have an anxiety attack go to the doctor repeatedly because they think they have medical symptoms. Something fundamental is to rule out the possible physical causes of symptoms such as tachycardia, chest discomfort or failure to breathe ...
Panic attacks can be successfully treated. Mainly, there are two types of treatment for anxiety attacks:
Psychotherapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: It is generally considered the most effective treatment for anxiety attacks and other related disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on those thoughts and behaviors that sustain or trigger panic attacks. Help the person to look at their fears in a more realistic way.
- Exposure therapy: In this therapy, the person is exposed to the characteristic physical symptoms of their anxiety attacks in an "artificial" environment, which is considered suitable for practice. In this way, you can learn effective ways to cope with symptoms. You are asked to hyperventilate, hold your breath, and do other exercises. In this way, similar symptoms of an anxiety attack are provoked within a safe context. Exposures allow the person to become less afraid of these sensations and have greater control over them.
Medication
Medication can be used temporarily to reduce symptoms when they are very severe. Keep in mind that it does not solve the problem. Medication can be helpful in cases with more disabling symptoms, although it is recommended as a complementary treatment and not as the only treatment. It is most effective when combined with psychological therapy and changes in the person's behavior.
The psychotropic drugs for anxiety attacks include:
- Antidepressants: Its effects begin to be noticed after taking them for several weeks, so they must be taken continuously and not only when the anxiety attack occurs.
- Benzodiazepines: they are anxiolytics that act quickly (30 minutes - 1 hour). Taking them during an anxiety attack produces a rapid remission of symptoms. We must bear in mind that benzodiazepines can cause addiction and have withdrawal symptoms, therefore, controlled use is recommended.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
