subject: Panic Attacks And Anxiety Disorder [print this page] The most common or most frequently occurring mental disorder are the anxiety disorders. This group of conditions share an extreme or pathological (habitual or compulsive) anxiety that causes a big disturbance in your mood or emotional tone. Anxiety is usually accompanied by the counterpart of normal fear, and can cause a disturbance in your mood as well as your thinking, behavior and activity.
Here are some of the anxiety disorders which include panic disorder (with or without a history of agoraphobia) agoraphobia (with and without a history of panic disorder), generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, acute stress disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There are adjustment disorders with anxious features caused from medical conditions, substances-induced anxiety disorders, and the residual category of anxiety disorder not otherwise specified.
A panic attack can cause periods of intense fear and discomfort and can be accompanied with numerous somatic (physical) and cognitive (mental) symptoms. Here are some of the symptoms of a panic attack palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, sensation of choking or smothering, chest pains, nausea or gastrointestinal distress, dizziness or lightheadedness, tingling sensations, chills or blushing and "hot flashes". The attack usually comes on abruptly and can build to the max within 10 to 15 minuets. People say they feel like they are going to die or that they are "going crazy" and cannot control their emotions or behavior. When the attack happens the person has a strong urge just to run and escape from the place where the attack begins, and if they are suffering from the chest pains or shortness of breath then they usually seek help at a hospital emergency room or other type of urgent assistance. An attack usually only lasts for 30 minuets. You can tell when you are having a panic attack by its intensity and its sudden, episodic nature. Panic attacks may be distinguishes by the relationship between the start of an attack and or the presence or absence of situation factors.
Just because you have a panic attack does not mean that you have a mental disorder, there are 10 percent of people who are healthy that have an isolated panic attack per year. Panic attacks are not just limited to panic disorder. They are usually associated with the social phobia generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder.
A person is diagnosed with panic attack disorder if they have at least two panic attacks and starts having persistent worry and concern about having another attack or changes his/her behavior to avoid having another attack However it depends on how many and how bad the attacks are that causes the concern and the avoidance of behavior that cause the attack to happen. This diagnoses does not apply to an attack hat has been caused by using drugs or medication or a general medical disorder, such as hyperthyroidism.
Women are twice as likely to have a panic attack than a man. Most people who are 50 years old or older rarely have panic attacks, but it is most common between late adolescence and midadult life.
