Important Information: What is a Panic Attack?
Panic attacks are incredibly common, but often time even people who are suffering from panic attacks are not sure what the problem is. This is why the question of what is a panic attack is so very important, and once you understand about what is a panic attack, you will be able to better understand your condition and how to deal with it.
What is a Panic Attack?
When it comes to the question of what is a panic attack, one of the first things that should be known is that a panic attack is basically uncontrollable. People who experience panic attacks usually cannot feel the attack coming on and, at least at the beginning, are not even sure why they are experiencing the attacks.
There are many symptoms that are associated with panic attacks, including dizziness, weakness, tingling or numbness, and even an impending sense of death or dying. Panic attacks are sudden and discrete periods of intense anxiety, which mount physiological arousal and fear.
The symptoms of a panic attack usually last about ten minutes, while some may be extended and can even last for hours. Panic attacks affect people differently, and so while one person may feel extreme discomfort from a panic attack, another may not even notice that they are experiencing one at all.
Panic attacks are a response of the sympathetic nervous system and the worst part is that the symptoms that are experienced are interpreted with alarm from the sufferer and as a result this causes increased anxiety and forms a positive feedback loop.
Treatment
Another of the most important issues in response to the question of what is a panic attack involves treatment. There are actually quite a few different options here that have proved to be effective, cognitive behavior therapy being one of the most commonly recommended. This is a psychotherapy that is based on modifying cognitions and beliefs with the aim of influencing disturbed emotions.
Relaxation and distraction techniques are often included here, and basically the objectives to this therapy are to identify irrational thoughts and beliefs and to identify how they are inaccurate and unhelpful. It can take a while to see results, but the important thing is that this therapy will help you find relief long term, rather than just temporarily.
If you are a panic attack sufferer, you may feel helpless and as though there is nothing you can do to feel better, but know that there are many people out there who are going to be willing and able to help you and forms of treatment that will offer you relief.
