More and more research has been done comparing men and women when it comes to panic attacks, and one conclusion that has come from this research is that women, more than men, are disposed to panic attacks. In fact, studies have shown that for a man that has a panic attack, three women will have a panic attack. There are several reason for this that researchers have hypothesized, but two of the most common concern the pressure that is placed on women by society as well the freedom and ability for women to express themselves without any societal repercussions.

Women are constantly bombarded with images depicting other women who are exceptionally beautiful. As a result, many women will try to compete with these glorified images, which can be especially difficult, not the least because many of these images are enhanced in such a way as to make those in the images appear even prettier than they really are. Put differently, the women in the images do not even look as good as they are presented so trying to match that level of beauty is just near impossible for anyone. Trying to keep up that level of beauty, however, may lead a woman to excessive exercise, extreme dietary regulations, or other drastic measures, all of which will prove futile. When a woman realizes that she will never look as good as the image that she idolizes, instead of admiring her own beauty instead, she may fall into a fit of depression, may retreat from the comfort of others, or may even adopt a “stop at no cause” mentality and rev up her exercise and dietary measures. This, as is well known, can lead to a lot of stress, amongst other problems, which can directly cause a panic attack to arise. Finally, although men are bombarded in much the same way as women, there is not that societal pressure placed on a man that dictates he must look a certain way or no one will find him attractive.

A second reason women are more prone to panic attacks, as well as panic attacks of a greater intensity, involves their ability to express themselves more than men are. Take, for example, crying. In American society, it is all right for a woman to cry, whereas when men do the same thing, they are often ridiculed and regarded as weak or cowardly. For women, in short, showing signs of emotion can be done without any backlash. Consequently, because women are able to show this emotion, they are putting themselves in a position where they may lose control of their emotions, thereby incurring a greater chance of having a panic attack.

It is interesting to note, moreover, that although women may experience more panic attacks, men generally have ones of greater intensity. This may be because men are unable to express their emotions and therefore have to bottle them up inside. When these emotions are released, they come more fully and in greater force, thereby leading to a more intense panic attack.

Nearly one-third of Americans, or more than one hundred million people living in the United States, has suffered from a panic attack sometime or other during their life. There are many reasons why this may be so, researchers are still trying to sort out answers to this question, but among people who are chronic sufferers, there appears to be several commonalities.
Most of those who are chronic sufferers have jobs that are either very physically or mentally challenging, leading to a great deal of stress. When stress levels are high, and one does not have the ability to simply pull away from the situation and relax, the body often times goes into overdrive, a condition that, if occurring to often, can lead an individual to overheat, much like a car would do. In an individual, however, this overheating takes its form in a panic attack. The heart will being to race, palms will grow sweaty, and a general feeling of gloom will preside, forcing the individual to step back from whatever he or she was doing, take a breather, and relax. For this reason, it is also important that a highly stressed individual occasionally take some time off. Without any time off, there is never any down time and, just the opposite, a person is continually on the go, which can have adverse side effects and could potentially trigger a panic attack.
Aside from these jobs, there are also several personality traits that doctors believe can contribute to a person experiencing a panic attack. People who are extremely analytical, are obsessive, emotionally sensitive, or need to be in control at all times are also more likely to experience a panic attack than their counterparts who are not like this. The primary reason people with these personality traits are more likely to experience a panic attack is because these people are likely to focus all of their attention on a single issue; and when this issue is no longer under their control, they are likely to freak out, thereby resulting in a panic attack. There is, in other words, either an obsessive or compulsive aspect to all of these personality traits and it is these qualities that are most prone to trigger a panic attack. Although it may be hard to alter one’s personality, there are a number of preventative ways to do so, whether they are natural or proscribed by a doctor.
Those with irrational phobias, such as fear of heights, spiders, or other mundane aspects of life, moreover, are also more prone to panic attacks. Someone who is overly afraid of spiders, for example, may tremble, sweat, and have trouble breathing whenever he or she sees a spider, which, as is well known, are all too common. These phobias stem from some negative previous encounter with the object of fear and, as a result, are usually difficult to overcome unless one seeks some sort of medical treatment, like seeing a psychologist. Without the help of some medical profession, the chances one will be able to overcome a phobia, and thereby curtail panic attacks, is very slim.

Panic attacks, which affect roughly one-third of Americans, and perhaps many more who are simply unaware that they are even suffering from panic attacks, involve a period of intense, often overwhelming and irrational, fear of distress that are usually associated with other fears. Lasting for roughly thirty minutes or so, and occasionally much shorter or longer, there are several primary symptoms associated with the panic attacks. For example, those who have experienced them generally state that there is a brief onset of trembling, followed by a shortness of breath. These are considered the minor symptoms, although for those who experience a heavier, longer panic attacks, symptoms can and usually are much more severe. Ranging from heart palpitations to hyperventilation to choking or smothering, panic attacks can cause an individual severe pain and can have lasting consequences.

There is a general consensus among the medical community that panic attacks stem from other phobias, or fears, which in turn triggers a panic attack upon exposure to these fears. If a person suffers from acrophobia, or fear of heights, for instance, upon flying in an airplane, this phobia may be triggered, causing the person to enter a panicked state and, hence, have a panic attack. During a panic attack, the “flight vs. fight” reaction comes into play and the person experiencing the attack suddenly has an overwhelming desire to leave the situation they are currently in. Moreover, chest pains or restricted breathing often accompanies this “flight vs. fight” reaction and this, potentially leading to feelings of impending doom, frequently spurs the sufferer to seek medical attention. Of course, this can be quite difficult, especially if an individual is in a plane or some other highly restricted area, and, as a result, a panic attack can often lead others to react in ways they are typically not accustomed to reacting, further heightening the already heightened tension. Finally, it is important to note that panic attacks are experienced by roughly ten-percent of the population and are in no way indicative of some underlying medical disorder or psychological problem. Most of the time, normal people, ones who are completely healthy, are those who experience panic attacks.

Typically lasting anywhere between two and eight minutes, panic attacks come on in waves, sometimes mild and sometimes intense, and, in most cases, ending in a deep physical exhaustion. This is due, primarily, to the “flight vs. fight,” reaction and the accompanying adrenaline that is released when the body undergoes this reaction. With such a dramatic release of adrenaline, the sufferer experiences a soaring high, only to experience a rock bottom low when the adrenaline has done its job and is no longer being released. This type of up and down can have harmful consequences on a person’s body, especially if a person experiences several panic attacks a day. If this occurs, it is important that an individual consult a doctor, who can help diagnose the problem and provide assistance by giving the sufferer some anti-anxiety medication that can help curb these panic attacks.

Panic attacks can last anywhere between two and six minutes and, although they are generally thought to be over once the attack concludes, there can be several long-term effects that linger on much later. One of the main long-term effects involves flashbacks, where an individual goes back to the time when the panic attack first took place, experiencing with this a return to the negative feelings he or she felt at the time of the attack. Aside from this, a second long-term effect that may arise concerns the use of drugs that were first used to curtail the panic attacks when they first occurred. Weaning an individual off of any prescription drug may cause bodily reactions that were unexpected, or may even lead to further complications that were not originally considered.

Flashbacks, or returning to a previous point while once again encountering the emotions associated with this previous point, are one of the most common long-term effects of a flashback. Often times, a person who has experienced a flashback, describes sensations similar to what took place at the time of the original attack. Perhaps the worst part about flashbacks is that they do not just occur once, but can occur any number of times.

Moreover, there is no forewarning, so an individual never knows when he or she is about to experience one. Despite this, many doctors agree that there are certain events that may trigger a flashback. Going back to the spot where a previous attack occurred, or engaging in recreational drugs, may trigger flashbacks, although there is even some dissent concerning whether this is true or not. Still, there is no real way to avoid a flashback.

Reports have indicated, furthermore, that time does not ensure that one will not have a flashback, as some people have stated that they have had flashbacks five, even ten years after the original panic attack first took place. In a word, flashbacks tend to throw an otherwise perfectly healthy individual into a high state of confusion, can be quite scary, and are virtually unavoidable.

A second long-term consequence of panic attacks relates to the drugs that an individual may take in order to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Because of the potency of many prescription drugs, and because one’s body tends to grow reliant upon them, there can be many serious long-term side effects when these drugs are no longer needed. Aside from acne and weight-gain, which are relatively minor, no longer taking a certain drug can lead to drastic mood swings, feelings of depression, seizures, and even suicidal tendencies.

These drugs alter the mind and when they are no longer needed, the mind may not know how to adjust, therefore causing these several, unexpected problems to arise. Many doctors, because of this, suggest that when a patient taking drugs to stop panic attacks no longer needs them, that the drugs be removed gradually and over time in order to prevent a patient from having serious long-term side effects that they may carry on for the rest of their lives.

Those who have suffered from panic attacks all suffer from similar symptoms. Sweaty palms, an overly high heart rate, mental confusion – all, as well as many others, are products of panic attacks. Knowing what these symptoms are, and, more importantly, being able to recognize them is crucial if people are to be properly diagnosed. Moreover, knowing what may be happening can also enable a person to take certain measures so that, if these panic attacks are to occur, they are not exacerbated or made worse by a person’s general lack of knowledge.
Perhaps one of the most common and well-known symptoms associated with panic attacks is just that – panic. Panic, or anxiety, is often very intense, and can be triggered by the slightest provocations. For instance, money, family, or work issues, however minor, can all cause an individual suffering from panic attacks to break out into a cold sweat, start to shake or cry, or experience pulsating headaches, to name a few syndromes. Those suffering from the worst that panic attacks have to offer can go as far as secluding themselves from the rest of society, fearing that if they venture into public they may undergo another panic attack and, as a result, be subject to ridicule or torment by their peers.
Another symptom may be someone’s continual reliance on alcohol or drugs. Because of the stultifying and depressing powers of alcohol and certain types of drugs, an individual’s reliance upon them can signal a deeper problem. Someone whose desire it is to curb or prevent panic attacks may engage in intense alcohol consumption or drug use in order to suppress the feelings and emotions they otherwise do not wish to express. Of course, this can have a very damaging affect on someone’s health, but for suffering from panic attacks, this may be preferable to the panic attacks.
A second symptom associated with panic attacks is intense social anxiety, which may express itself in an individual’s reluctance to meet and talk to others or to engage in any type of event that requires them to be social. Because people who express this anti-social behavior – which is usually accompanied by other symptoms like stammering, dry mouth, or difficulty with speech – are generally thought to be overly shy or introverted and, as a result, receive little sympathy from their peers, and may, in some cases, even be viewed as mentally ill. This does nothing but contribute to the problem, causing many sufferers to think that their fears of social interaction are justified and that those around them do not care about their mental well-being.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is another common syndrome associated with panic attacks. People suffering from this disorder become so consumed by certain thoughts that they are unable to think of anything but these thoughts, growing obsessed with them until they are highly distressed. Although some argue that everyone is OCD in some way or other, and that it is this compulsive disorder that lies behind ambition and drive, those suffering from extreme OCD usually worry about things that are inconsequential or that they have no control over. For example, some people fret over germs so much that they will take constant showers and will not shake people’s hands out of fear of contracting some germ.

There is a wide-held belief, held by smokers and nonsmokers alike, that smoking helps calm a person down. After all, isn’t this why people smoke after eating dinner, or during a lunch break, or after a long day at work? This belief, like many of the other common beliefs held in regards to smoking, has been shown to false. In fact, much to the contrary, smoking, besides its damaging effects on physical health, can also have damaging effects, of equal or greater magnitude, on the mind as well. Perhaps this claim is illustrated best when it comes to panic attacks, a disorder that smokers are liable to experience at a rate of 3:1 over their nonsmoking peers.

Panic attacks, which involve shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, and chest pain, among the many other symptoms, may not simply be made worse by smoking, but may be the reason why these attacks are occurring in the first place. According to Naomi Breslau, PhD, and Donald F. Klien, MD, of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, the relationship between smoking and panic attacks is substantial, with smoking increasing a person’s lifetime risk of having a panic attack by a staggering amount – perhaps, as they have suggested in their findings, by as much as three to four times.[1] For those who have quit smoking, on the other hand, the chances of a first panic attack from ever occuring go drastically downward, although as of yet there has not been any research showing whether quitting smoking altogether has a similar impact on panic attacks.

Tobacco smoke, Breslau and Klien argue, may heighten the chances of panic attacks in people who are already prone to them. Nicotine, furthermore, can play a role much like that of tobacco, since nicotine affects the brain in ways that researchers are just beginning to understand. What these two researched have hypothesized is that cigarette smoke, and the accompanying toxins, including the tobacco, nicotine, but also the carbon monoxide, may lead to increased stress levels that, in turn, can spur a panic attack to happen. As Klien states, “What we have in a panic response is the body’s stress response going full out. … In general, you don’t feel a soothing, calming feeling after you have a cigarette.”

To avoid panic attacks caused by smoking, the best thing to do is to simply stop smoking. Of course, the addictive qualities of smoking are well publicized, and as anyone who has been smoking will attest, quitting is quite hard. However, one must weigh the pros and the cons, and as more and more research into the harmful effects of smoking is becoming clear, the negatives have been shown to drastically outweigh the positives. No matter how it is looked at, smoking is not good for anyone. Now, aside from the physical toll it takes on a person’s body, there is also reason to believe that smoking can lead to panic attacks, thereby destroying a person’s mind. If this is not reason enough to stop smoking, what is?

There are many issues that arise when one considers treating children who are experiencing panic attacks with prescription drugs. For instance, many parents are hesitant to administer drugs that might affect a children’s brain because they are unsure of what the long-term side effects may be. However, if non-medical intervention has proven to be unsuccessful, and children are still having panic attacks, it may be time for more drastic measures.

Treating children with drugs in order to curtail panic attacks should never be the first measure a parent takes, although it should certainly not be ruled out. In this way, it is similar to diabetes. After diabetes in a child is diagnosed and it is ruled that the diabetes is not severe, a doctor will recommend some sort of dietary regulations; on the other hand, if the diabetes are considered severe, a doctor will have to enlist a different approach, which may involve some sort of medical treatment. There is, in other words, a gradual process to the treatment of diabetes in children – as there is to panic attacks – starting with minor changes and then employing greater ones if necessary. In some cases, however, when the panic attacks are exceptionally severe, it may be necessary to start a child off on drugs immediately.

With drugs – including, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Zoloft, and Luvox, to name a few – a child suffering from attacks will be able to deal with many situations he or she may not have been able to deal with before the onset of the drugs. These drugs help increase serotonin in the brain, which is responsible for such things regulate mood, control aggression, hamper sleep problems, and curb various compulsions, thereby eliminating panic attacks, raising a child’s level of enthusiasm, lowering depression levels, and, in short, allowing a child to live out the remainder of his or her youth happier. It is important to note, however, that these drugs, like all drugs, have side effects, ranging from upset stomachs to diarrhea to things such as destructive behavior and possibly even suicidal tendencies. In most cases, these problems occur during the first few months of usage, then wane, although it should be noted that any drug used to cure panic attacks should be administered in low dosages lest any problems become worse.

Not everyone responds the same to a medicine and in some instances these medications have shown to be unsuccessful. When it is clear that the drug is not working, it should be discontinued, at which point either another medicine should be tried out or medical treatments should be stopped altogether. Failure to stop a medical treatment that has proven to be ineffective can have a drastic effect on a child, and may even leave the child with permanent problems in the future. Therefore, it is crucial to closely monitor how a child is reacting and if a child is benefiting from various drugs. For the majority of children suffering from panic attacks, drugs have the desired effect, stopping the attacks, and for this reason they remain a popular choice for many parents with children who are suffering with this problem.

Defined as a physiological condition intending to change or alter a person’s thinking or behavior, hypnosis has been a hot topic for scientists, with some believing that is can indeed cure patients and help them overcome various illnesses – like panic attacks, for example – and others brushing it off as mere quackery without any real remedial value. Still, despite the arguments on both sides, this has not stopped hypnosis from consistently being employed by those psychologists who see it as a way to help sufferers of panic attacks. They stress its history – which dates back hundreds of years, if not longer – and argue that, even in a time of high skepticism, many people still look to hypnosis as a means of helping them overcome their illness.

Because of the effects hypnosis has on an individual’s mind, many psychologists believe that panic attacks, which stem from the brain, can be remedied with hypnosis. Utilizing hypnosis, these psychologists argue, helps to formulate a division between body and mind. Dealing with the mind exclusively, hypnosis can help strengthen the effects of the mind over the body by altering how certain sensations are perceived and by redirecting a person’s attention away from symptoms that may be dwelled upon during a panic attack. This, in turn, will lead to a state of physical relaxation, causing a panic attack that may have only become worse to gradually subside and eventually disappear altogether. Many patients who have undergone such treatment swear to its effectiveness and have come to be major proponents of this type of psychology. They view it as a way to help someone with taking prescription medication that may have short or long term effects on a person’s body and mind.

On the other hand, there are many, psychologists included, who perceive hypnosis as nothing more than an outdated, ineffective treatment that has not shown any conclusive scientific indications that it can help cure people from panic attacks. Pointing to the increased knowledge that has been gained about the brain, people who dispute the effectiveness of hypnosis generally argue that the brain is far too complex an organism to simply be fooled into thinking something that it is not true.

Although they concede that there are certain illusions that will trick the brain into thinking something contrary to the truth – optical illusions, for instance – they argue that this is only temporary and that, sooner or later, an individual realizes that this is not the truth and hence no longer believes it to be the truth. Hypnosis may be able suitable as a short-term solution to panic attacks but can no way be considered a long-term one. For any long-term solution, a permanent, irreversible change must take place and this, they contend, can only be done by a drastic life-style change or through the use of drugs.

Whether effective or not, hypnosis still plays an active role in psychology and is still sought after by many people wishing to cure panic attacks and many other illnesses. Even those who view it negatively admit that the complete disappearance of hypnosis is likely to never occur, mainly because it is so ingrained in our society.

Throughout the United States, roughly one-third of Americans suffer from panic attacks, and there are many more sufferers who have yet to be diagnosed. As a result, there has been a great deal of attention paid to this affliction, with doctors and others in the medical community devising various ways to help people overcome and ultimately relegate panic attacks to history. Of course, not all panic attacks are the same, some are of higher or lower intensity, and not all people deal with panic attacks in the same way. Thus, it is important to keep in mind that certain techniques and medications that can be beneficial for one person may not always be beneficial for another.

One of the simplest ways to stop a panic attack is to just forget about what is happening during the experience. Part of the reason a panic attack can escalate from mild to intense is because the sufferer becomes fixated on what is happening and, consequently, whether real or imaginary, the symptoms seem to get much worse. Although simply forgetting about a panic attack may be difficult for any sufferer, there are ways to make it easier. For instance, if an individual feels that they may be undergoing a panic attack, this individual may chose to go for a long, peaceful walk in some comforting area. Putting oneself in a relaxing environment will help lower an individual’s stress levels which can, in turn, help lessen any potential symptoms that may arise. Many other easy ways for curing panic attacks exist, but a second involves watching or doing something that is funny. Often times, when one is laughing, one will forget about their panic attack.

When stress is reduced, a leading factor in panic attacks, panic attacks generally tend to subside or disappear altogether. People engaged in rigorous, demanding careers may experience more panic attacks than those who are engaged in easier, more relaxed careers. In order to curb some of this stress, taking a break or not working so many hours may be necessary if panic attacks are to stop.

For those who experience major panic attacks, and ones that will not be cured by more simple techniques, taking a light sedative or going to see a psychologist may be the only way ease the symptoms of a panic attack. Because panic attacks are usually associated with some phobia, or fear, seeing a psychologist, talking about this fear, and finding ways to overcome this fear, can be a healthy method of putting these attacks into the past. When talking does not work, mild sedatives or antidepressants, such as benzodiazepine or Zoloft, may be helpful, although it is important that one consult a physician before taking any prescription medicine. Some, on the other hand, totally avoid prescription medicine, mostly due to poor experiences with them, and instead recommend more natural medicines, such as a 5-HTP, Relora, or, for women who are post-menopausal, Estro-Natural. These natural cures can be found almost anywhere, but generally cost a bit more than prescription medicine since they are usually not covered by insurance.

The gripping effects of bipolarity, which causes an imbalance of mental and emotional stability, can grow even worse when plagued by all the problems of acute anxiety. Much research has gone into the connection between panic acute anxiety, spurred on by such diseases as bipolarity, and panic attacks, which are generally thought to be the product of extreme anxiety, although no conclusive results have been established suggesting that there is a common underlying biological dysfunction. Whatever the case, the result is the same: an overwhelming sense of fear that can cause an otherwise perfectly healthy individual to shun society and the world around them. In a word, someone suffering from bipolarity and panic attacks can become virtually incapacitated, not only unable to function in the world, but, worse yet, trapped in the confines of an ever-destructive disease.

Many people who suffer from bipolarity have reported usual amounts of anxiety, leading them to experience syndromes similar to that which someone having a panic attack might feel. For example, these people have all described feeling, at times, an overwhelming sense of depression, confusion, obsession, compulsion, sleep disorders, and other behaviors typically not associated with those of steady mental health.

Many, furthermore, are dependent on drugs in order to keep these problems in check, but many of these same sufferers also state that these drugs gradually lose their potency and, after a while, cease being effective. Because of this, many doctors change up the medications that they proscribe in order to make sure that a person’s mind and body do not get acclimated to this drug. Doing this enables them to keep one step ahead of the disease and not, as it used to be, let the disease overtake the individual. Of course, changing up an individual’s medications can have a lot of side effects, including, although not limited to, increased depression and, in the worse case scenario, suicide. But, doctors argue, this is very rare, and the overwhelming amount of people who suffer from bipolarity and the panic attacks that are triggered are able to leave normal lives.

Still, there is a sliver of people who never recover, regardless of the drugs that are administered to them. Unsure of why this is, doctors routinely subject these people to various tests, hoping to understand why they are immune to remedies that have otherwise proven successful on many others. One possible reason that has been bantered around the scientific community deals with the fact that these people are not really bipolar at all, but instead have some other disease that is replicating symptoms generally associated with bipolarity. Of these symptoms, many occur that are similar to symptoms displayed during panic attacks; the only difference, but a fundamental difference, deals with the lack of mental equilibrium that is more consistently and more persistently shown.

People suffering from panic attacks generally do not display long periods of mental imbalance, though people with bipolarity do. As a result of this confusion, there remain a number of people who still suffer on a daily basis and who may never be cured. In the end, however, understanding bipolarity, as well as its symptoms, can help understand extreme anxiety, which, in turn, can help understand panic attacks. Doctors have found a link between the three. The hard part is trying to disrupt the link so that people no longer have to suffer.