What Is Anxiety Attack Disorder?
An anxiety attack disorder refers to a condition during which the sufferers experience a short period of intense fear mostly without any apparent causes of fear. It is also referred to as panic attack. For many people an anxiety attack can be a once in a lifetime issue, while for others it can be a lifelong problem, attributing as an anxiety attack disorder. If someone is having anxiety attack at least twice a month, it implies that the individual is suffering from anxiety attack disorder. In its severe form, anxiety attack disorder can be life-threatening and disabling too.
Features
Despite of their distinctive features, all anxiety attack disorders share one common aspect, which is persistency characterized by overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety. The frequency and intensity of these fears lead an individual to experience immobilization, distress and disruption. The most of features of an anxiety attack disorder may involve an unrelenting and all-consuming form of anxiety, self-imposed isolation, emotional withdrawal, and maladaptive interaction with normal daily activities. In addition, anxiety disorder promotes low self-esteem, depression, and alcoholism.
Causes and Risk Factors
There is a wide array of factors contributing to the development of anxiety attack disorder in an individual. These factors may include environment, personality, family dynamics, brain chemicals and genetic makeup. In addition, major life stressors like marital problem or sudden death of a close one may heighten the risk. Environmental factors like financial catastrophe, early detachment from mother, critical parents play significant role in developing anxiety attack disorder. People with weaker personality traits develop anxiety attack disorder since they find themselves weak and world, on the other hand, is a powerful and threatening place.
Malfunction in certain neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA and epinephrine may also lead to the development of anxiety attack disorder. Heredity plays one of the leading roles in developing such complications. A family history with mood disorder, depression, anxiety disorder or substance abuse may heighten the risk. Some people are genetically vulnerable to stress, quite obviously they are increasingly susceptible to anxiety attack disorder. A traumatic experience may also fabricate the condition. In fact, different researches show there is a strong correlation between anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Treatment
A combination of breathing exercise, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication is used in treating anxiety disorder. With the help of breathing exercise, the patients are able to learn how to breathe using abdomen but not the chest. In fact, people with anxiety attack exacerbate the condition with chest breathing. CBT helps in restructuring the maladaptive thinking pattern by integrating components of cognition and behavior. Anti-anxiety drugs, beta-blockers and antidepressants are commonly known drugs used for alleviating the short-term to severe symptoms of anxiety disorder.
