The Truth about Panic Attacks
We all panic at times, especially during stressful or dangerous situations. It is a perfectly natural response which is derived from our basic human instinct – survival. But for some people, panicking for no reason at all could be tormenting and deeply embarrassing. These people chose to hide from everyone else the fact that they are suffering from panic attacks.
But panic attack is more common than you may think. This debilitating disorder affects millions of people worldwide. According to the NHS, nearly one in every five persons in the UK has panic disorder. And just like many other mental health problems, the real cause of a panic attack has not yet been fully understood.
The Nature of Panic Attacks
The word ‘panic’ comes from a Greek term ‘Pan’ who is a name for their god of nature. According to literature, Pan had a scream so intense that everyone who heard it died from fear. In the most logical sense, Pan no longer exists in the modern world. But subconsciously, all of us have our own ‘Pan’ – the thing that brings us a strong feeling of fear. For some people, their pan exists in being with a huge crowd of strangers. For others, it’s in knowing that they have a serious illness. Basically, panicking arises from unmanaged fears.
A panic attack occurs when you experience a rush of intense psychological and physical symptoms such as nausea, sweating, trembling, palpitation and irrational fear. It may happen for only a few seconds or a couple of minutes. Some people rarely experience panic attacks but others may experience it several times a week.
Myths about Panic Attack
Because they think they are acting weird or ‘crazy’, many sufferers of anxiety and panic disorder refuse to seek treatments. Just like any mental illness, there’s always a stigma attached to panic disorder. Not only that, there are also many myths that prevent sufferers from recovering, such as the following:
· Tranquilisers and sleeping pills cure anxiety.
These medications do not provide cure, they only temporarily relieve the symptoms. Using them is less likely to help you beat the cause or causes of your anxiety problems. Worse, you may worsen your anxiety and develop more serious health problems as these drugs come with side effects. Research found that long-term use of tranquilliser is linked to the occurrence of panic attack.
· You can’t cure phobia.
Some people develop irrational fear over certain things, such as spiders, snakes, elevators, heights, etc. Commonly known as phobia, this condition can trigger panic attacks and increase a person’s anxiety levels – which in turn affect their quality of life. Sadly, many people choose not to seek treatment because they think nothing can cure their phobia. But numerous studies have highlighted the healing effects of hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and other complementary therapies in eradicating phobia.
· Intense panicking could result to heart attack.
Even though during a panic attack you may feel like you are going to die, it doesn’t actually expose you to physical danger. Unless there is an underlying medical condition, it is very unlikely that panic attack could bring lasting effects to your physical health. Nevertheless, most people with extreme cases of panic attack tend to have some other mental problems. And that is why immediate treatment is still necessary.
Have you ever experienced a panic attack? How did you feel? What did you do to prevent it from happening again?
Share your thoughts below.
©Copyright 2013 by http://www.NaturalTherapyForAll.com Counselling Glossop - All Rights Reserved.