How to Get Prepared for a Severe Panic Attack
Panic disorder is a surprisingly common condition, one that presently affects millions of people around the world. It is just as predominant in men as it is in women and it affects people of all ages. Panic attacks can be incredibly frightening, and even make the person feel as though they are dying.
There are certain symptoms that are often experienced by a person suffering from a severe panic attack, and this includes a pounding or racing heartbeat, smothering sensation, tingling numbness of the skin, lump in throat, difficulty swallowing, hot or cold feeling, shakiness, and chest pain or discomfort. A severe panic attack can often be so bad that the person confuses it with a heart attack and will go to the hospital in a panic.
Causes
The only way that a person can learn how to properly deal and prepare for a severe panic attack is by learning the cause of their condition. Determining the cause of a severe panic attack condition can be difficult, since panic and anxiety are natural responses in human beings. Basically what your body is doing during one of these attacks is preparing or guarding itself from something that it assumes is dangerous.
In other words it is doing its job by creating a response to a danger or threat, but the problem is that there usually is no danger or threat. When some sort of danger is perceived the brain sends a message of this to a section of the nerves in your body and your body in turn prepares itself for fight or flight.
Getting Prepared
If you have experienced a severe panic attack before then you will want to not only learn about the cause but learn what you can do to get prepared and try to avoid having another one in the future.
Medication is the most commonly suggested treatment here. Beta blockers can be helpful in controlling the physical symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks, particularly those associated with social anxiety. They also tend to have fewer side effects than some of the other panic attack drugs and are therefore much more favored by patients.
Tricyclic antidepressants may also be prescribed, and this includes drugs such as Clomipramine, Venlafaxine, Desipramine, and Imipramine. These are typically used to treat severe depression or depression that is associated with anxiety. There are a few side effects that may be experienced including loss of sex drive, difficulty urinating, and postural hypertension, just to name a few.
