Panic attacks in today’s society are not at all uncommon. According to various estimates, 5-10% of the population suffers from them. This includes both those people who experience attacks regularly and those who have experienced symptoms only once.
How to distinguish a panic attack: symptoms and signs
Under the term “panic attack” falls a set of signs and symptoms by which you can identify the condition of the patient. So, panic attack begins with the appearance of the following sensations:
- Unreasonable fear of death;
- difficulty breathing;
- palpitations;
- increased sweating;
- panic and extreme anxiety;
- fear of going insane;
- tremors of the hands or the whole body.
Such a condition is often accompanied by tears, incomprehension of what is happening and inadequate reactions. Fear paralyzes the ability to evaluate the existing danger rationally. It is perceived as fatal.
This condition can occur at any time, but most attacks occur at night.
Panic attack symptoms in women
Statistically, women are more susceptible to panic attacks than men. For every man who suffers from the disease, there are 5 women who are susceptible to panic attacks.
The reasons why women are more likely to be victims of this disorder are as follows:
- A cultural code that does not forbid women to show emotions and, consequently, exaggerate them;
- Regular hormonal fluctuations;
- Women are more characterized by mistrustfulness, which sometimes leads to PA.
But precisely because of women’s heightened emotionality, panic attacks in them are difficult to recognize from the outside. At times, it seems that the woman just “freaked out”. It is not easy to understand how scared and hard it is for those around her at this point.
How does panic attack manifest itself in men?
There is a theory that men are less susceptible to panic attacks because of their upbringing. Since childhood, boys are taught to be strong, including psychologically, not to give vent to emotions and, in any case, not to cry. The habit of suppressing emotions can help stop the approaching panic attack. Confessing to such a condition is also not good for men. Therefore, such cases do not become known and are not considered in the statistics.
Specific features of the course of such a condition in men differ in some respects:
- Panic attacks are most often genetically conditioned.
- Men more often have objective reasons for stress provoking panic attacks.
- Many men who have quit drinking or taking drugs regularly experience the condition described.
- Fear of the occurrence of another attack is formed much faster, because it is difficult for men to forget uncharacteristic behavior.
- Attacks are accompanied by a large number of physical manifestations (abdominal cramps, loss of voice, stupor, trembling in the knees and hands, sweating, chest pain). It is compensation for the limited number of emotional manifestations.
Panic attacks in adolescents: features
Many people only experience panic attacks during adolescence. Puberty is accompanied by a major change in the hormonal system. The body matures both physically and psychologically. All elements of growing up turn out to be stressful for the teenager and the risk of falling into an unexplained panic attack increases.
Causes of panic attacks
There is no single theory about the nature of panic attacks, but it has been possible to identify a number of causes that may provoke them.
- Abrupt changes in life that caused stress (moving, the loss of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job change).
- Lack of sleep (striving to have time to do everything, not giving oneself time to rest).
- Genetic predisposition to psychological or mental disorders.
- Self-reported consequences of alcohol or drug abuse or cessation of drug use;
- Hormonal imbalance;
- A number of diseases (asthma, diabetes).
Even with many risk factors, a panic attack will not necessarily happen. It all depends on the initial state of the psyche and nervous system. People react differently to the same events.
Panic attacks are not uncommon for no apparent reason or reason.
Can a panic attack occur at night?
A panic attack can also happen at night while you sleep. Most often it is provoked by a nightmare dream. In this case, a person wakes up sharply, feels his heart pounding, loses touch with reality and cannot calm down.
In sleep, there may be such a phenomenon as “sleep paralysis”. It is characterized by paralysis of the muscles with full brain function. It occurs upon awakening or falling asleep. The person perceives everything as awake, but his body is still “asleep.” For people who have not experienced this phenomenon before, it can be a reason for a panic attack. Many have the feeling that someone is strangling them, or that they are already dead.
It helps to interrupt such conditions by touching the outside, turning on the light, and talking to loved ones.
First Aid for a Panic Attack
The type of help for a panic attack depends on who needs it. In any case, the main thing is to strive for calm.
If the person next to you is experiencing all the signs of a panic attack, it is important to yourself not to give in to hysteria and remain sane.
Then you can proceed to the following actions:
- take the person by the hand or hug him or her (if it is a loved one and he or she is not protesting);
- Do not touch them if touching them is frightening;
- Be sure to turn on the lights;
- remain calm and talk in a friendly manner, tell them that nothing terrible is happening, everything is fine;
- if the patient feels that there is nothing to breathe – offer to breathe into the bag;
- divert his attention to something else, something interesting and positive.
The person should understand that he or she is not alone and believe that this unpleasant situation will soon pass.
How to cope with panic attacks?
There are recommendations on how to get rid of panic attacks permanently or significantly reduce their frequency. Here are a few tips, implementing which can significantly improve your psychological state:
- Every night walks in the fresh air;
- Taking light sedatives (valerian, motherwort);
- work with a psychologist;
- Regular practice of yoga, bodyflex and other types of physical and breathing exercises;
- Avoiding stress and moral overload;
- getting rid of contacts with unpleasant, toxic people.
The more comfortable and happy a person feels in life, the less likely panic attacks are. Therefore, all prevention should be aimed at strengthening general health and establishing a favorable emotional background.
Breathing during a panic attack
Breathing exercises borrowed from yoga are good for any stress. If you feel a panic attack coming on, you need to focus on the count and inhale, slowly counting to 4. Then you should hold your breath, also counting to 4, and for 4 counts slowly exhale followed by holding your breath. The count can be 4, 5 or 6. It is necessary to choose a suitable and comfortable for yourself.
Such breathing allows a couple of minutes to relieve stress and feel more confident.
How to cope with a panic attack on your own? Tips from a psychologist
With recurrent panic attacks, it is advisable to seek help from a specialist. But if there is no such possibility, you can take advantage of general recommendations of psychologists.
If no one is around during a panic attack – it’s hard, but there are still methods to relieve yourself. To do this, you need:
- Turn on your favorite movie or music, call your relatives, and create the feeling that someone is nearby;
- Begin to monitor your breathing and inhale and exhale at the count of 3 or 4, you can study other types of breathing exercises in advance.
- Carefully observe the position of your body. Surely somewhere there are clamps, clenched fists or there are other manifestations of neurosis. In this case, you should try to relax these very areas, change your posture. There is research confirming the influence of body posture on one’s emotional state.
- distract yourself from something around you. Count books on the shelf, try reading their names aloud in reverse, remember the multiplication table. Shift your thoughts.
- Engage in an activity that has always relaxed and calmed you.
- Change your environment, change your clothes, go into another room.
- Get a drink of water.
- Take a sedative.
It is important, no matter how hard it is, to remember that it will soon stop. Panic attacks last for an average of 10-20 minutes and you need to wait them out while trying to calm down as quickly as possible.
