Anyone that has had a panic attack, they would say that no other experience in life compares. Panic attacks, even if mild, can completely take over a person’s mind and body and in some instances, these attacks leave lasting effects. Today, it is estimated that more than two million people between ages 18 and 54 just in the United States experience at minimum of one, attack annually. In severe cases, a person would need to be hospitalized!
Overwhelming fear is always a part of every attack, although in different ways for people that have experienced attacks prior and those going through their first attack, as indicated:
For the person that has gone through panic attacks before, fear is broken down in two ways. First, this person lives with constant fear by not knowing when the next attack will hit and second, he or she has fear that life will never return to normalcy.
For the individual that has never had panic attacks and goes through the first, fear is often associated with death. Because symptoms of these attacks mimic a heart attack, people actually believe they are dying.
There are positive considerations associated with panic attacks. For instance, after a person is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, he or she could learn ways of identifying triggers that would produce an attack, avoiding certain situations, emotions, or environments. In addition, with proper treatment, up to 90% of people that have ongoing panic attacks bring them under control within one to two months.
Panic attacks are a type of panic disorder, and for a firm diagnosis the individual would need to have gone through four attacks within a one-month period. Doctors use very specific criteria during the diagnosisphase, requiring at least four before the disorder is confirmed.
When quick action is taken, through confirmed diagnosis and proper treatment, people have a great chance of regaining control over life. Unfortunately, too many people ignore symptoms, refuse to be seen by a doctor, or do not follow treatment as instructed. When this happens, the effects of panic attacks can become devastating.
Once authentic panic attacks start, they do not go away on their own. While some people might see a reduction of symptoms over time, usually, numerous symptoms continue for months, if not years or life. Typically, panic attacks start in the late teens to early twenties, although they can appear later. Regardless, these attacks change a person’s life forever, and not in a good way.
If panic attacks go untreated, an individual could face serious and possibly irreversible consequences. As the attacks continue and symptoms worsen, people begin to distance themselves from life, which results in a loss of friends and intimate relationships, estrangement from family, job loss, leaving school, and sometimes the depression that goes with panic disorders becomes so intense that suicidal thoughts or worse begin.
It is vital for anyone dealing with panic attacks, no matter how intense, to not mistake a quiet period as healing. Sometimes, symptoms of a panic disorder ease up but this relief is short-lived. Along with the body being taken over, the mind is also consumed, making it difficult or impossible to make rational decisions. For this reason, if someone suspects that he or she is having panic attacks, rather than chance it, a doctor should be seen so proper treatment could be started.