subject: Panic Attack Symptom – Learn to Recognize Each One [print this page] Panic Attack Symptom Learn to Recognize Each One
A panic attack is described as having an abrupt intense fear which can be idiopathic or caused by a culmination of stressful events. The shortest known recorded time for a panic attack is at fifteen seconds while the longest lasted for several hours. At least four out of thirteen symptoms develop suddenly during a panic attack and they reach their peak in a period of ten minutes, with each of the panic attack symptoms lasting for about thirty minutes before they subside.
Symptoms like palpitations, trembling or shaking, muscle tension, sweating, shortness of breath, difficulty of breathing, choking feeling, chest pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, abdominal problems, paresthesias, chills or hot flashes, weakness in the knees, tunnel vision, feelings of unreality, depersonalization, confusion, blank mind, fear of impending doom, fear of losing control or going crazy, feeling of a need to escape and slowing of time are among the most commonly noted in patients with this condition. It is important to keep in mind that a panic attack symptom may be present in one person while absent in another.
Agoraphobia may also be exhibited by a person with panic attack. However, it does not occur during a panic attack but rather occur in people who have had previous panic attacks. That is why it is not considered a panic attack symptombut rather a separate entity. Agoraphobia, in contrary to most definitions, is not the fear of open spaces. It is an anxiety disorder that creates the fear of having panic attacks in certain places. In a more general sense, it is the fear of experiencing an embarrassing or difficult situation from which there is no escape and that other people bear witness to.
People who experienced a panic attack while under a certain situation or place can develop irrational fears over them. These are called phobias, and they are very common in people who have had panic attacks.
It is important to remember that the effects of panic attacks differ from person to person. This condition can gravely affect the quality of life but with proper treatment, the prognosis is very promising. In fact, more 90% of patients diagnosed with panic attacks achieve full recovery with proper medical attention.
