Panic attacks are a common anxiety disorder with many people being called upon to deal with them. These are essentially panic attacks with ongoing seizures, at least 4 per month. Although they do not have an exact age at which they appear, the most common is between 25 and 45 years old. Although, in our days, panic attacks often appear in adolescents too. In fact, it is particularly important to emphasize that the incidence of panic attacks in women is twice as high as in men.
What are panic attacks?
Panic attacks are a very unpleasant and painful situation. The persons experiencing them, feels that they are suffering from a serious health problem, such as a heart attack, fainting and generally conditions that can lead to death. After the crisis usually follows a large number of health tests where even positive results are questioned in terms of validity.
The main features of panic attacks are:
- Sudden appearance without expecting it.
- They last for a while, however the few minutes seem endless hours to the one who experiences them.
- It is the manifestation of an intense anxiety, fear, stress, etc.
People who experience panic attacks try to minimize their chances of recurrence. Something that includes avoiding specific places, behaviors and generally a need to always have a familiar person by their side, an emergency exit, etc.
Panic attacks are situations that significantly affect the interpersonal relationships and in general the daily life of a person. In fact, there are many people with panic attacks who are gradually locked in the house. After all, agoraphobia occurs in about 50% of people with panic attacks.
What are the symptoms of panic attacks?
The symptoms of panic attacks can vary from person to person. The truth is that everyone can experience them in a different way and with the manifestation of different symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms are:
- Abnormally rapid heart rate
- Feeling of chest pain
- Sweating
- Shortness of breath
- Numbness
- Trembling
- Dizziness and instability
- Nausea
- General confusion
Of course the symptoms are not just physical. A person who experiences panic attacks usually also experiences changes in his way of thinking, such as the appearance of negative thoughts “I’ m loosing my mind”, “I’m getting crazy”, “I’m dying” etc.
How are panic attacks treated?
We could say that panic attacks are a warning of the body that a person’s mental strength is exhausted and he needs extra help. The contribution of psychotherapy is huge, as it is the most effective way to deal with crises.
With online psychotherapy sessions, the person experiencing panic attacks enters a safe environment. A framework where he/she can freely express his/her feelings, thoughts and opinions. The online psychologists of Psychologists Online will develop a communication relationship with you through which you will be able to discover unexplored aspects of your psyche so that the symptoms of seizures begin to subside.
In particular, psychotherapy will teach you various breathing techniques, relaxation, etc. which will help you gain control of the seizures and finally deal with them effectively. For more information on panic attacks as well as how online psychotherapy can solve your problem, just contact us.