Frequent Panic Attacks? Here’s What We Want You to Know

Out of the blue, you’re struck by overwhelming fear and anxiety. While the attack might only last a few minutes, it’s highly disruptive and leaves you fearing the next one.

Called a panic attack, millions of Americans experience these extreme episodes of fear that have no obvious basis — there’s no immediate danger, yet the attack forces you into a state of terror.

As part of our mental health awareness efforts, our team of mental health experts here at Point of View Mental Health in Scottsdale, Arizona, wants to share a few important things about this type of anxiety disorder. So, if you or a loved one is suffering from frequent panic attacks, read on for more information.

Panic attacks are common

Suffering from panic attacks can feel isolating, like you’re the only one, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Panic disorder affects about 6 million adults in the United States and about 11% of people experience at least one panic attack each year.

Panic attack disorders are far more common in women — by 2 to 1 — and hormones might play a role in this gender disparity.

Panic attacks are an extreme fight-or-flight response

Humans have a built-in fight-or-flight response designed to protect them from danger. For example, when you’re facing down a threat, your fight-or-flight response kicks into action and it’s all hands on deck. During this response, a cascade of things occur in your body, including:

• Increased blood flow to your muscles
• Faster heart rate
• Rapid breathing
• More oxygen is sent to your brain
• Glucose is released for a burst of energy

When you have a panic attack, these responses are exaggerated and go far past your ability to fight or flee. Most panic attacks render the person frozen with fear.

Panic attacks differ from anxiety attacks

Many people confuse panic attacks with anxiety attacks, but there are differences. Panic attacks tend to strike out of nowhere, and the symptoms are extreme and include:

• Pounding or racing heart
• Chest pain or tightness
• Difficulty breathing
• Tremors
• Sweating
• Nausea and vomiting
• Choking
• Dizziness
• Numbness and tingling in your hands

These symptoms come on strong and last, on average, about 10 minutes before they subside.

An anxiety attack comes with less severe symptoms and often lasts longer — heightened anxiety can last for days and even weeks or months. As well, many anxiety attacks can be traced to a stressor, while panic attacks come on for no reason.

There are solutions for panic attacks

This is the most important point we want to make — we can help reduce and even eliminate your panic attacks. There are several ways we can do this, such as:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Deep breathing exercises to reduce the stress response
• Exposure therapy
• Antidepressants
• Beta-blockers
• Stress management techniques

Our goal is to find the right approach to help remove the fear that’s gripping your life, and this often means combining different therapies. Once we find a combination that works best for you, you can move forward with the tools you need to confidently manage your panic disorder.

To learn more about breaking free from frequent panic attacks, contact our office at 520-999-9114 or connect with us online. We also offer telemedicine services throughout the state of Arizona.