The Stages of Panic Attack
After getting a panic attack, the way the patients describe the situation is often frightening. Full of fear and anxiety in combination with shortness of breath and racing heart or chest pain are all that characterize a panic attack. It is really important for the individual having panic disorder to have all the relevant understanding about panic attack and available treatment options. There are no remarkably distinguishable stages of panic attack, however, in this article we will reflect over initial and advanced stages of panic attack depending on the intensity of the occurrence and identify them with their specific characteristics in question.
Initial Panic Attack
At the initial stages of panic attack, it seems like to appear 'out of the blues'. It may occur any time without giving any specific signal. All of a sudden, the individual will become terribly frightened and experience a wide array of uncomfortable symptoms including intense terror, a feeling of detachment from reality or a panic of losing control over own life and existence. This stream of feelings may last from few seconds to few minutes and the symptoms may gradually fade over the course within an hour or two. The experience is overwhelming through the stages of panic attack and may end up in disastrous condition such as heart attack or stroke.
The Advanced Stages
The advanced stages of panic attack are characterized by recurrence panic attacks during which the victims develop an intense nervousness about further occurrence. In the advanced stages of panic attack, it becomes a serious issue especially when the individuals with panic attack develop a condition known as 'anticipatory anxiety' or 'fear of fear'. In most of the cases, this seriously interferes with life events even when the panic attack is actually not on its progress. The anticipatory anxiety may lead the individual to experience phobia about anticipating the situations or events where the panic attacks may occur.
Individuals with panic-induced phobia become tend to stay away from situations where they experience panic attack before. As a result, the scope of their life interactions becomes limited. Both their professional life as well as personal life gets severely affected. In the advanced stages of panic attack, an individual may experience an extreme difficulty in sleeping since they fear of getting panic attack during sleep and spend time awaken in a state of intense anxiety and terror. The condition may worse so extensively that the individual may deny sleeping and suffering from exhaustion when they even try doing so.
No matter what you are experiencing at this moment while reading this article, if you find and relate some symptoms in your life, better not to be late in seeking professional advice. In the extreme level of panic attack, it is disabling and life-threatening too. So, take action now.
