Panic Disorder: A Frightening and Mysterious Condition

A panic attack can not physically harm you, but a panic disorder is a serious condition that can have ill effects on your health. A panic disorder is when one has repeated, out of nowhere panic attacks, to the point of disrupting their life greatly. A panic attack can make the sufferer feel as though they are going to die or or come to great harm. It is a very real condition that can happen to anyone, no matter how strong minded that person is. There are techniques to help one through the attacks, but their is no controlling a panic attack. As a sufferer of this disorder, I know that knowledge is power so the more you know of what is happening, the less frightening it is. Not that even knowledge can convince your brain to stop panicking, during an attack.

The signs and symptoms of a panic disorder are different for everyone and come in many different degrees of severity. All of a sudden, your brain gets the message that you are in danger and goes into" fight or flight" mode. The problem is you are so petrified you can't run. You don't know what it is that frightens you so. There is no real danger but there is no calming the feeling. Mine always start with a flush through my body then a rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath, as if there is a rag stuffed in the throat. These are common symptoms but it gets worse.There may be sweating, hot flashes, nausea, dizziness, a choking sensation, weak muscles, sharp phantom pains in the stomach,numbness, tingling even chest pain. Worse than the physical manifestation this brings about is the mental toll it takes on the victim. They just know they are going to die, or they know they have a serious disease. Many fear a heart attack or heart problem or think they are going crazy. They will be torn and lost, wanting to run from the unknown fear, but afraid to move. They are unsure of what to do because they don't know what the danger is. This can happen anytime, even during sleep. In a most severe case, where one might be sleep and rest deprived, there can even be hallucinations. From the very start of an attack there is a feeling of being detached from reality which only frightens more.

It is not known for certain where panic disorder comes from. There is definitely a chemical imbalance in the brain but that could be a result, rather than the cause.There seems to be a genetic predisposition to panic disorder. Perhaps a life changing stress plays a part as the cause or just the trigger. Panic disorder can be a gateway to developing phobias. The most likely, of course being the fear of another attack sneaking up. I developed autophobia, the fear of being alone. A person with panic disorder will sometimes go out of their way to avoid public places, being alone, or anything, place or object they have associated the attacks with. This disorder often leads, not only to phobias, but also depression,drug abuse,other mental disorders, even suicide. Women are twice as likely to develop this disorder than men. It definitely lowers life quality for it's sufferers. Eventually leading to a total inability to lead a normal life. There is available therapy to help manage this disease, including many drugs to manage the recurrence of attacks and get rid of physical symptoms. You can live a normal life with a doctors help.

www.apa.org/topics/anxietyqanda.htmlpanicdisorder.about.com/od/causes/a/pdcauses.htm