What are panic attacks: causes, symptoms, mechanism of development, how to resist a panic attack and overcome fear? Treatment and prevention of panic attacks: psychotherapy, medicines, tips, recommendations

Treatment, symptoms, causes, panic attack: recommendations, prevention tips, drug therapy and psychotherapy.

Panic attacks: What is it?

Some people face attacks of serious fear, horror, panic for no reason. These attacks are necessarily accompanied by such unpleasant sensations as trembling in the body, frequent heartbeat, fever, tides of sweat, difficulty in breathing. After a while, an alarming attack passes.

Many people have repeatedly faced this condition and could not explain to themselves that this happened to them. In official medicine, for a long time, there was no unequivocal answer to this question. Relatively recently, doctors answered numerous questions, what kind of condition these are. Such conditions are called panic attacks.

Important: panic attacks-a strong attack of fear, horror, panic, which arose for no reason or provoked by some situation. Intensive fear goes along with bodily unpleasant sensations - tingling and numbness of the limbs, chest pain, lack of air, strong heartbeat.

According to statistics, every 8 resident of the United States is subject to panic attacks. In the UK, this condition is observed in 15% of the population. Residents of Russia also suffer from this alarming disorder. In different sources, you can find a figure from 5 to 10%. From year to year, the number of people with anxious disorders is growing.

According to statistics, panic attacks are more common in women than in men. For the first time, panic attacks occur in young people who have reached 20-30 years.

• If a person has experienced a panic attack, in the future it is likely that this will happen again. But no one can predict when the attack happens. In some people, panic attacks happen weekly, in others - daily, in others - extremely rarely.
• A panic attack is often connected with depression, fear of speaking before the public, fear of public places. In most cases, a panic attack occurs due to deep internal experiences of a person. But you should also know that such a condition can happen suddenly, for no particular reasons.
• An attack of a panic attack is similar to a heart attack. Sometimes, faced with this, they turn to a cardiologist. However, the results of the cardiogram in most cases showed a normal result.
• The path from a panic attack to a psychotherapist in our time has been significantly reduced. Although so far many people still do not know what is the reason for this unpleasant phenomenon that is happening to them. The phenomenon of panic attacks is actively studied, the causes and mechanisms of the launch of such a reaction of the body are not fully known.
• A panic attack in essence does not affect the physical health of a person, with the exception of the development of phobias and psychological injuries. For example, if a panic attack occurred in the subway, then it will be difficult for a person to force himself to go down to the subway again. The first panic attack is remembered for a person very much, as it happens unexpectedly, spontaneously. For a person, this means that he will try to avoid the place where the panic attack first happened. A person will feel not very comfortable in this place. However, the avoidance of certain places will not change the situation, only give temporary relief.

Panic attacks: causes and mechanism of development

The causes of panic attacks are not fully studied. Scientists argue that not only psychological factors affect the development of anxiety states, but a combination of genetic and biological factors is also necessary.

The following reasons are associated with panic attacks:

1. Depression. Especially a prolonged stressful state, which is accompanied by the intake of alcohol, lack of sleep, fatigue.
2. Impotence, loss of control over the situation.
3. Difficult life situations, for example, the loss of a loved one or a rupture of a relationship.
4. Reception of substances stimulating the nervous system. For example, excessive consumption of coffee, smoking or intake of narcotic substances.
5. Mental or somatic disorders.
6. Agoraphobia. This is a fear of accumulations of people, any places outside the house. People with agorathobia are afraid that they will not be able to control their body and mind in case of danger and as a result they will die, faint or go crazy.

The above causes are not direct causes that contribute to the development of panic attacks. They can only provoke this condition. Inquire these factors should be deep internal experiences of a person.

When a person is faced with a terrible situation, there is a sharp and large emission of adrenaline. If a person reacts normally to a terrible or unpleasant situation, this means that adrenaline quickly returns to normal. When a panic attack occurs, the level of adrenaline does not correspond to the level of threat, it increases sharply and strongly. In the future, the level of adrenaline does not quickly return to normal. This leads to the fact that a person needs about 1 hour on average in order to return to normal after a panic attack.

In simple words, from the point of view of physiology, the launch of a panic attack lies in the sharp and very strong response of the nervous system to the external stimulus, which in essence does not pose a real threat. The nervous system gives the installation "Beat or run".

Important: adrenaline is a hormone that takes part in the response of the body. If there is a sudden emission of adrenaline, this is accompanied by a frequent heartbeat, rapid breathing.

How to recognize a panic attack: symptoms

Knowing the symptoms of a panic attack, you can learn how to take the process under control.

Symptoms of a panic attack:

• Feeling of strong fear, panic;
• Trembling throughout the body or in the limbs;
• A tide of sweat;
• Shortness of breath, rapid breathing, lack of air;
• Pain, discomfort in the chest;
• Weakness in the body;
• Cardiopalmus;
• Numbness of the limbs;
• Chills or heat in the body;
• Fear of death;
• Fear of going crazy.

To establish a diagnosis of a panic attack, at least 4 symptoms are needed. Often some of the above symptoms are observed for diseases of the heart, hyperactivity of the thyroid gland, bronchial asthma. Therefore, it is important to check the state of your own health. If there are no deviations in the body, then we can talk about panic attacks.

The characterization of a panic attack uses such terms:

1. Derealization
2. Depersonalization

In the case of a derealization, it seems to a person that the world around us has become unrealistic. In the second case, a person feels himself outside his body, as if watching what is happening from the side.

Less commonly, but there are such symptoms:

• Nausea, vomiting;
• Rapid urination;
• Stool disorder;
• Preaching state.

Important: a person may be afraid that he will faint. But with panic attacks, people do not faint, this should be remembered.

When a person is overcome by the above symptoms, and this occurs spontaneously, a person begins to panic to be afraid of unjusting his body, thoughts and feelings. It seems to him that he is dying, from this fear is only intensifying. A vicious circle is formed, to get out of which you can. To do this, you need to know how to act with panic attacks.

What to do if there was a panic attack?

Important: in this whole story related to panic attacks, there is a positive fact. This is that such a state can be learned to control.

When a panic attack begins, it is impossible and not to analyze the causes of what happened. However, several rules of conduct that will help to come to life should be remembered.

What to do with a panic attack:

1. First of all, you need to feel control over your body. To do this, you need to rely on the wall, sit on the bench. If this is not possible, you need to rest your feet on the floor, and then clasp your hands in the lock.
2. The next step - control breathing. At this moment there is a lack of air. To remove this, you need to translate surface breathing into deep. Start inhalation and exhale air to the account. Inhale at account 4, then exhale at the expense of 4, hold your breath for 2 seconds.
3. Stabilize breathing A package or a glass will help. Just breathe into the container, soon breathing is normalized.
4. It is advisable to drink water.
5. When it turned out to take control of the situation, you can translate attention to surrounding objects. For example, count at home, cars, people.
6. Do not rush to calm the attack as a result, the opposite effect may occur. Try to calm the fear slowly, but confidently.
7. It helps some people conversation with someone. Communication with others helps to feel protected and calm down.

Important: the most important thing is that you need to remember during an attack that this is temporary. Any panic attack has its beginning and end, it does not lead to death or to loss of consciousness.

Panic attacks scare others. If you have witnessed such an incident, try to help a person. You can take his hands, calm down in a confident voice. To assure that everything is fine, and soon everything will pass.

Relatives should be especially attentive whose close people are subject to panic attacks. Learn to support your loved ones, calm them down, do not be nervous if it seems to you that this attack is unreasonable. These are no reasons for them, but people with panic attacks are terribly really. Then, when the attack passed, these people can feel inconvenient for loved ones for what happened, it is a shame and unpleasant to remember this. Such people especially need support and understanding, because this did not happen by their will, and they are not to blame.

Against the background of panic attacks, some people may develop hypochondria.

Important: Hypochondria - A condition in which a person is constantly concerned about the state of his health for no apparent reason. The person is sure that he has incurable or serious, leading to death.

Hypochondria can lead to the fact that from a cheerful and rejoicing human life, one can turn into a sad, preoccupied, always suffering person.

Video: How to treat panic attacks at home?

Treatment of panic attacks: drug therapy and psychotherapy

Panic attacks are treated. If you feel that you can’t cope, do not hesitate to seek help from a specialist. Many are ashamed of this, they are sure that there is no problem, and they themselves can do well with their experiences. Thus, people delay the process of their recovery.

With panic attacks you should contact such doctors:

• Neurologist
• Psychologist
• Psychotherapist

Panic attacks can be treated by taking drugs. It can be antidepressants, sedatives, tranquilizers. Medicine therapy A good doctor must prescribe. First of all, he must assess the patient's condition, determine how strong panic attacks are and how destructive they are for the body. Correctly prescribed drug therapy will help to overcome an alarming disorder, cope with protracted depression.

But the main role in the treatment of panic attacks is assigned psychotherapy. This includes work with various directions:

1. Search root cause Panic attacks. Often, the reasons lie in the memories of a person.
2. Changing the relationship To a panic attack. If it is impossible to completely get rid of panic attacks, you should teach a person to live with them. Take them, for granted, to be able to cope with temporary difficulties. For this, psychotherapists use various methods. For example, they give a person a person to go down in the subway and go through this test. Then do it again and again. Thus, a person gets used to and learn to cross the psychological barrier. Talking with a person also helps.
3. Search for "secondary benefits". Sometimes a person under the cover of panic attacks tries to influence others. This is difficult to understand, but it happens. For example, demanding care from husband/wife/children. Or, for example, with unwillingness to work. Even a person himself cannot recognize the fact that panic attacks help him achieve what he desired, it takes a lot of time to accept this. And only a competent, experienced psychotherapist through conversations, painstaking work with consciousness, with deep memories of a person can identify “secondary benefits”.
4. In the treatment of panic attacks is practiced physiotherapy. Sometimes a person is simply recommended to take himself in any kind of sport, sign up for yoga, in the pool. These classes help to occupy themselves, find a hobby, raise their self -esteem.
5. Psychologists recommend people with panic attacks constantly increase your self -esteem, work on positive thinking, try to drive away negative thoughts from yourself. For example, to afford some kind of whim, to pamper yourself. This significantly raises the mood, makes a person happy.

Important: do not forget that if you yourself do not want to help, no doctor, the psychotherapist will help you. The treatment of panic attacks is akin to the treatment of alcoholism, necessarily a sincere desire of a person to help himself.

If you are not lucky, and you are faced with panic attacks, this phenomenon should not be ignored. Runned panic attacks can significantly worsen the quality of human life, interfere with socialization, spoil relations in study, work, at home. Currently, there is a lot of information about panic attacks and the fight against them, so fighting this phenomenon is now much easier than 20 years ago.

Painting Panic attacks: tips and recommendations

It is impossible to predict the appearance of panic attacks. However, there are recommendations for the prevention of panic attacks and improving the quality of life.

Tips for the prevention of panic attacks:

• Do not abuse psychoactive substances. These include alcohol, coffee, narcotic substances, cigarettes, etc. Everything that affects the nervous system can adversely affect, especially if you are tormented by frequent attacks of panic attacks.
• Do not lead a sedentary lifestyle. If the work involves sitting in the same place, be sure to get out somewhere after work. Arrange hiking, bike rods, go in for sports, dancing. In a word, do not sit still - move more.
• Try to protect your life from stress factors. If you are constantly nervous because of what, try to solve this problem, protect yourself from experiences. Equip your life in such a way as to worry about as little as possible. Many people manage to do this, most importantly, learn to accept themselves, recognize their desires and be able to appreciate their psychological comfort.

Panic attacks are an unpleasant and often phenomenon, but you can learn to live with them, and even overcome your fears completely. The cured is not the one who no longer has panic attacks, but the one who is not afraid of them anymore. The culture of psychotherapy is at the level of active development in our and neighboring countries, many people have ceased to be ashamed of psychotherapy and are actively fighting their fears. Help yourself or your loved ones if this trouble happened to you.

Video: How to overcome fear with a panic attack?