Many times panic attacks are categoriazed as mental illness. To understand this and see whether it's true or not, we need to analyze what panic attack really is. In addition to that we also need to study what lays behind such statements and also see how it affects one's body.
Panic Attack?
Panic attacks are usually defined as being a discrete, sudden feeling of very intense fear, anxiety and feeling of discomfort. Usually it is also linked with several different cognitive and somatic symptoms. It is a condition that normally shows an abrupt onset and usually no obvious reason can be observed.
These attacks are considered to be a fight or flight that are flooding the body with several different hormones (mostly adrenalin) in order to aid the body when feeling a need to defend the body from harm.
Ordinarily panic attacks last about 10 minutes. There are of course variations to this, from as small as 5 minutes to severe anxiety attacks that can last several hours.
In different situations that saw the individual suffer a panic attack in the past, he/she can also experience anticipatory anxiety, which can also be felt in between attacks.
Different individuals will get different affecting levels from panic attacks. Those that already got through many in the past might also be able to eliminate the panic attack without even anyone noticing that it might have appeared.
Having said that, persons who are experiencing their first panic attack usually call for emergency services as they have no previous experience and they might be thinking that they are experiencing a nervous breakdown or even a heart attack.
Panic Attacks - What Causes Them?
Panic attacks are caused by several different reasons and once we learn more about them we can tell whether panic attacks are mental illnesses.
We need to analyze the cause in order to understand the effect with any medical condition out there, including this one. First off we have long term, predisposing causes, mainly based on heredity.
There are some panic disorders that might run in families and inheritance genes can play an important role when determining who might suffer from panic attacks in the future. Of course one must understand that a person can suffer from panic attacks even if you did not have any previous cases in your family.
Possible biological can also cause panic attacks. These can include inner ear disturbances, mitral valve prolapse, Vitamin B deficiency, Wilson's Syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism and a whole lot more. There's also a possibility that phobias generate panic attacks when the person is confronting a phobic situation or thing.
Some situations might also cause short term triggers for panic attacks. This includes personal loss, a significant life change, different stimulants like nicotine and caffeine, drugs like marijuana or psilocybin and so on.
Side effects of some drugs can also cause panic attacks. Ritalin is one example, but it's not certainly the only one. There are two possible outcomes in this situation.
Panic attacks appear only when the patient gets the first medication or it might continue even after the person is getting used to the drug. In situations like this it is highly recommended that alternative medication routine is researched as it's difficult to live with panic attacks that are caused by drugs. Many SSRIs will cause increased anxiety at the early stages of use.
People suffering from Hyperventilation Syndrome are also prone to develop panic attacks. Chest breathing is known to be a cause for over breathing as excess in exhalation of carbon dioxide when compared to the oxygen in your blood will cause this over breathing.
Also, people that suffered a panic attack in the past will be more likely to get a new one when a certain situation that is similar to that which was seen at the first attack takes place.
This can mean that a person can get a cognitive or behavioral predisposition towards getting a panic attack in different situations. Pharmacological triggers can also have a direct impact.
One can mention several different stimulants, depressants, chemical substances that have the power of pharmacologically contributing to a list of possible triggers. The most common examples are alcohol, amphetamine or caffeine but there are several others that also can be mentioned.
In some cases like these, people that suffer from panic attacks might even develop a phobia for one drug or different chemicals.
So, Are Panic Attacks Mental Illnesses?
As we can see from the list of causes attached to panic attacks we can sum everything up with a simple and clear conclusion: Panic attack is NOT a mental illness.
However, we can say that there are similarities but the best we can do is to consider them coincidences and the medical condition at hand is simply a cognitive or somatic behavioral situation that has a damaging impact on the human body.
In order to treat it, some practices have been developed and a huge step towards curing the patient stands in getting him to confront the external elements that are causing the anxiety episodes.
Treatment options will differ exactly based on the cause and the trigger, combined with an analysis to the gravity of the panic attack exhibited. Usually treating the problem is relatively easy but there is also the possibility that it might require months of treatment and strong medication in order to end up with completely removing the situation of suffering from a new panic attack.
Although panic attacks are not a mental illness, they can be cured in some circumstances with the help of mental processes based on the power of the human mind. For instance relaxation techniques can have a huge success in dealing with patients suffering from panic attacks or anxiety.
Panic Attack?
Panic attacks are usually defined as being a discrete, sudden feeling of very intense fear, anxiety and feeling of discomfort. Usually it is also linked with several different cognitive and somatic symptoms. It is a condition that normally shows an abrupt onset and usually no obvious reason can be observed.
These attacks are considered to be a fight or flight that are flooding the body with several different hormones (mostly adrenalin) in order to aid the body when feeling a need to defend the body from harm.
Ordinarily panic attacks last about 10 minutes. There are of course variations to this, from as small as 5 minutes to severe anxiety attacks that can last several hours.
In different situations that saw the individual suffer a panic attack in the past, he/she can also experience anticipatory anxiety, which can also be felt in between attacks.
Different individuals will get different affecting levels from panic attacks. Those that already got through many in the past might also be able to eliminate the panic attack without even anyone noticing that it might have appeared.
Having said that, persons who are experiencing their first panic attack usually call for emergency services as they have no previous experience and they might be thinking that they are experiencing a nervous breakdown or even a heart attack.
Panic Attacks - What Causes Them?
Panic attacks are caused by several different reasons and once we learn more about them we can tell whether panic attacks are mental illnesses.
We need to analyze the cause in order to understand the effect with any medical condition out there, including this one. First off we have long term, predisposing causes, mainly based on heredity.
There are some panic disorders that might run in families and inheritance genes can play an important role when determining who might suffer from panic attacks in the future. Of course one must understand that a person can suffer from panic attacks even if you did not have any previous cases in your family.
Possible biological can also cause panic attacks. These can include inner ear disturbances, mitral valve prolapse, Vitamin B deficiency, Wilson's Syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism and a whole lot more. There's also a possibility that phobias generate panic attacks when the person is confronting a phobic situation or thing.
Some situations might also cause short term triggers for panic attacks. This includes personal loss, a significant life change, different stimulants like nicotine and caffeine, drugs like marijuana or psilocybin and so on.
Side effects of some drugs can also cause panic attacks. Ritalin is one example, but it's not certainly the only one. There are two possible outcomes in this situation.
Panic attacks appear only when the patient gets the first medication or it might continue even after the person is getting used to the drug. In situations like this it is highly recommended that alternative medication routine is researched as it's difficult to live with panic attacks that are caused by drugs. Many SSRIs will cause increased anxiety at the early stages of use.
People suffering from Hyperventilation Syndrome are also prone to develop panic attacks. Chest breathing is known to be a cause for over breathing as excess in exhalation of carbon dioxide when compared to the oxygen in your blood will cause this over breathing.
Also, people that suffered a panic attack in the past will be more likely to get a new one when a certain situation that is similar to that which was seen at the first attack takes place.
This can mean that a person can get a cognitive or behavioral predisposition towards getting a panic attack in different situations. Pharmacological triggers can also have a direct impact.
One can mention several different stimulants, depressants, chemical substances that have the power of pharmacologically contributing to a list of possible triggers. The most common examples are alcohol, amphetamine or caffeine but there are several others that also can be mentioned.
In some cases like these, people that suffer from panic attacks might even develop a phobia for one drug or different chemicals.
So, Are Panic Attacks Mental Illnesses?
As we can see from the list of causes attached to panic attacks we can sum everything up with a simple and clear conclusion: Panic attack is NOT a mental illness.
However, we can say that there are similarities but the best we can do is to consider them coincidences and the medical condition at hand is simply a cognitive or somatic behavioral situation that has a damaging impact on the human body.
In order to treat it, some practices have been developed and a huge step towards curing the patient stands in getting him to confront the external elements that are causing the anxiety episodes.
Treatment options will differ exactly based on the cause and the trigger, combined with an analysis to the gravity of the panic attack exhibited. Usually treating the problem is relatively easy but there is also the possibility that it might require months of treatment and strong medication in order to end up with completely removing the situation of suffering from a new panic attack.
Although panic attacks are not a mental illness, they can be cured in some circumstances with the help of mental processes based on the power of the human mind. For instance relaxation techniques can have a huge success in dealing with patients suffering from panic attacks or anxiety.
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