How Does A Panic Attack Start?

Panic disorder can seriously inhibit a person's life. While it is only natural to occasionally feel nervousness, anxiety, depression and stress, a person with a full scale panic attack disorder will feel extreme life-altering terror. They may worry incessantly about when and where they will experience another sudden attack. They may also come to avoid social interactions, driving or other situations that have been known to preempt an attack. While the exact trigger to cause panic attacks is still very much a mystery, scientists have a few theories as to what causes such a sudden and awful feeling.

While 8 to 10% of the population is likely to experience occasional panic attack anxiety, only 5% will develop an actual panic disorder. Many people believe that panic attacks are rushes of discomfort and extreme stress. However, many people who have had a panic attack disorder say that it was the single most terrifying event of their lives. Since the attacks come on so suddenly and without provocation, patients often feel as though they are "going crazy." Their thoughts, heart rate and hyperventilating breathing just can't seem to slow down, and all for seemingly no reason at all.

Researchers often look at what causes some people to experience occasional, random bouts of panic, while others develop a full scale panic disorder. It's widely believed that people can create learned vulnerabilities. For instance, children with overprotective parents may grow up believing the world is a cruel and dangerous place. Some people may believe that stress is overwhelming, uncontrollable and unavoidable. An initial panic attack anxiety episode may trigger a hypersensitivity to certain external cues.

There are lots of other fascinating figures take into consideration. First, women are twice as likely to develop a panic and anxiety attack as men. Two more studies learned that identical twins are more likely to both have problems with panic attack disorder, whereas fraternal twins are not. These studies suggest that there could, in fact, be biological ties to panic, however the genetic markers haven't yet been identified. Whether it's a cause or effect isn't clear, but 50 to 60% of people who endure panic disorder also have problems with despression symptoms; 45% of panic attack patients were victims of sexual abuse; 35% of sufferers have alcohol or substance abuse problems; and 26% of patients have incapacitating agoraphobia, a fear of public places.

To stop anxiety, doctors usually prescribe fast-acting antidepressants or sedatives during the initial phase of treatment. However, there is always a worry or concern that people may become addicted to the panic attack medication when used as a quick fix. A much more long-term panic disorder treatment plan is to attend cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy sessions, which usually show improvement within 8 to 10 weeks. Without treatment, the panic attacks can be quite debilitating for the sufferer.