PTSD Documentary

Panic Disorder Symptoms

People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly, most often with no warning. They usually can’t predict when an attack will occur, and many develop intense anxiety between episodes, worrying when and where the next one will strike. In between times there is a persistent, lingering worry that another attack could come any minute.

When a panic attack strikes, most likely your heart pounds and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control. You may genuinely believe you’re having a heart attack or stroke, losing your mind, or on the verge of death. Attacks can occur any time, even during nondream sleep. In the United States, this type of panic attack has been estimated to occur at least one time in roughly one-quarter to one-third of individuals with panic disorder, of whom the majority also have daytime panic attacks. While most attacks average a couple of minutes, occasionally they can go on for up to 10 minutes. In rare cases, they may last an hour or more.

Panic disorder strikes between 3 and 6 million Americans, and is twice as common in women as in men. It can appear at any age–in children or in the elderly–but most often it begins in young adults. Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder– for example, many people have one attack but never have another. For those who do have panic disorder, though, it’s important to seek treatment. Untreated, the disorder can become very disabling.

In the United States and Europe, approximately one-half of individuals with panic disorder have expected panic attacks as well as unexpected panic attacks. Thus, as a recent change made to the criteria in the 2013 DSM-5, presence of expected panic attacks no longer prevents the diagnosis of panic disorder. This change acknowledges that oftentimes a panic attack arises out of an already-anxious state (e.g., the person is worried about having a panic attack in a store and low-and-behold has one). Clinicians now make the decision whether a person’s expected panic attacks will count towards their client’s panic disorder diagnosis. Now, they will usually classify expected panic attacks under panic disorder as long as the person’s concerns accompanying their panic attacks are centered around fears of the panic sensations themselves, their consequences (e.g., “I could have died or gone crazy”), and of having them again in the future (e.g., the person makes special efforts to avoid returning to the place where that attack occurred).

Panic disorder is often accompanied by other conditions such as depression or alcohol/drug use to cope with or prevent symptoms, and may spawn phobias, which can develop in places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack strikes while you’re riding an elevator, you may develop a fear of elevators and perhaps start avoiding them.

Some people’s lives become greatly restricted — they avoid normal, everyday activities such as grocery shopping, driving, or in some cases even leaving the house. Or, they may be able to confront a feared situation only if accompanied by a spouse or other trusted person. Basically, they avoid any situation they fear would make them feel helpless if a panic attack occurs. When people’s lives become so restricted by the disorder, as happens in about one-third of all people with panic disorder, the condition is called agoraphobia. A tendency toward panic disorder and agoraphobia runs in families. Nevertheless, early treatment of panic disorder can often stop the progression to agoraphobia.

Specific Symptoms of Panic Disorder:

A person with panic disorder experiences recurrent either expected or unexpected Panic Attacks and at least one of the attacks has been followed by 1 month (or more) of one or more of the following:

• Persistent concern about about the implications of the attack, such as its consequences (e.g., losing control, having a heart attack, “going crazy”) or fears of having additional attacks
• A significant change in behavior related to the attacks (e.g., avoid exercise or unfamiliar situations)

The Panic Attacks may not be due to the direct physiological effects of use or abuse of a substance (alcohol, drugs, medications) or a general medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).

Though panic attacks can occur in other mental disorders (most often anxiety-related disorders), the panic attacks in Panic Disorder itself cannot occur exclusive to symptoms in another disorder. In other words, attacks in Panic Disorder cannot be better accounted for by another mental disorder, such as Social Phobia (e.g., occurring on exposure to feared social situations),Specific Phobia (e.g., on exposure to a specific phobic situation), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (e.g., on exposure to dirt in someone with an obsession about contamination),Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (e.g., in response to stimuli associated with a severe stressor), or Separation Anxiety Disorder (e.g., in response to being away from home or close relatives).

Panic disorder is associated with high levels of social, occupational, and physical disability; considerable economic costs; and the highest number of medical visits among the anxiety disorders, although the effects are strongest with the presence of agoraphobia. Though Agoraphobia may also be present, it isn’t required in order to diagnose panic disorder.

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/panic-disorder-symptoms/

Anxiety Q&A | Zoella

HOW TO STOP A PANIC ATTACK

Posed by model

1) Recognise your feelings of panic early on — by becoming more aware of your feelings of anxiety, you can take action before you have a full-blown panic attack.

Enquire into your feelings by asking: ‘What are my feelings telling me about what I might be needing right now?’ Then take action to give yourself what you are needing. This could be to go for a walk, relax, or doing the 7/11 breathing technique described below.

2) Think positive thoughts — when negative thoughts like ‘I’m losing control’, ‘I’m going to die’, ‘I can’t cope with these feelings’ come up during a panic attack, focus on a positive reassuring thought instead.

For instance: ‘I will be OK’, ‘these feelings will pass’, ‘I can cope with these feelings’. Whilst negative thoughts will tend to escalate your feelings of panic, thinking positive thoughts will help you to reduce your feelings of panic.

3) Take action to restore calm — focus your attention on  your breathing using the 7/11 breathing technique. It will help you overcome the physical symptoms of hyperventilation, including choking, shallow and difficult breathing.

It is a good idea to practice the 7/11 breathing technique a few times so that you are familiar with it and feel comfortable using it when you have a panic attack. This technique slows down your breathing and encourages you to take longer, deeper breaths into your belly. It works on the sympathetic nervous system as you inhale and on the parasympathetic nervous system as you exhale, relaxing your mind and body.

The 7/11 breathing technique

Practice this technique whilst sat and with your feet firmly placed on the ground and place your hands lightly on your belly.

Close your eyes or look down at a focused point on the ground.

Breathe in through your nose for two counts, then breathe out through your nose for two counts. Repeat this a few times.

Lengthen and deepen your breath then by breathing into your belly for five counts, then exhaling for nine counts. Repeat this for a few minutes.

Breathe in through your nose for seven counts, then exhale for 11 counts. Repeat this until you feel calm.

4) Accept your feelings and the physical symptoms of panic — you might want to avoid your feelings of panic. However, this only serves to keep you stuck in the vicious cycle of feeling afraid of these feelings.

By accepting that it is natural and OK for you to feel feelings of panic, you can begin to lessen your fear and the accompanying physical symptoms. The more comfortable you are being in contact with these feelings, the less they will affect you when you feel them.

http://www.eveningecho.ie/2014/05/28/stop-panic-attack/

Dealing with Panic Attacks & Anxiety | Zoella

Anxiety research: Even crayfish get stressed, scientists show

Anxiety is not only felt by the followers of the England football team, it can also be found in the lowly crayfish, a small lobster-like creature that appears to be capable of fearing the future just like a soccer fan, a study has found.

For the first time scientists have found unequivocal signs that the state of anxiety normally associated with higher forms of life such as humans, mammals and other animals with a backbone is also shared with a spineless species with a worrying disposition.

An experiment has shown that the freshwater crayfish can be induced into a state of deep anxiety that can only be alleviated by the same kind of tranquilisers used to treat people afflicted by a similar condition, scientists said.

The study revealed that the crayfish emotion is governed by the same chemical transmitters in its nervous system that are involved in controlling anxiety in humans, which is why anxious crayfish respond to benzodiazepine, a tranquiliser used to treat anxiety in people, scientists said

“Anxiety is different from fear, which is something that even the simplest animals show. Anxiety is a kind of fear of the fear, and animals who experience it will display adaptive behaviour to minimise the threat,” said Daniel Cattaert, a neuroscientist at the University of Bordeaux in France.

“Acute anxiety can be beneficial. After an animal has faced a bad experience then if it adapts its behaviour to minimise the risk in the future, then this can be beneficial for the animal. People thought this only occurs in animals with complex nervous systems, but we have found it in crayfish,” Dr Cattaert said.

The study, published in the journal Science, involved subjecting crayfish to a series of mild electric shocks which understandably made them nervous and so prone to flicking their tails as an escape response.

They also changed their behaviour when compared to crayfish that had not been treated with electric shocks. Instead of exploring the well-lit parts of their tank, the anxious crayfish kept almost entirely to the darker corners as light made them fearful.

“This adaptation in the stressed crayfish lasts for about an hour after being subjected to about 20 minutes of stress. A naïve crayfish will readily explore the well-lit arms of the cross-shaped tank but the stressed crayfish are clearly anxious about doing this,” Dr Cattaert said.

“There is clear decision making involved. They may start to enter the lit areas of the tank but then they stop and go back to the dark areas,” he said.

When the stressed crayfish were treated with chlordiazepoxide, a potent benzodiazepine, they overcame their anxiety and readily explored the well-lit areas of the tank, showing no abnormal aversion to light, he added.

Injecting the neurotransmitter serotonin into unstressed crayfish, however, caused them to behave as if they had undergone the electric-shock treatment. Serotonin also plays a key role in governing the stress response in humans, suggesting that there is a common origin of anxiety in crayfish and people, the researchers said.

“Our results demonstrate that crayfish exhibit a form of anxiety similar to that described in vertebrates, suggesting the conservation of several underlying mechanisms during evolution,” they said in the study published in Science.

Dr Cattaert did not want to go as far as to suggest that crayfish are showing some kind of conscious behaviour, or even that they feel pain in the same way that mammals feel pain.

“It doesn’t mean that the emotions are the same, although we have found that the mechanism that has been developed in vertebrates [animals with backbones] is also present in crayfish. But I wouldn’t say that this changes totally our view of crayfish,” he said.

“Crayfish forget things pretty rapidly and if you don’t have a long memory you have no sense of consciousness.”

Animal emotions: Do beasts feel burdened?

Emotions are seen as  something unique to humans. However, we can often see “emotions” in other animals, although not all scientists agree on whether they are exactly analogous to what people feel.

Fear An aversion to an  imminent threat is almost  universal in the animal kingdom. Rodents have been shown to fear the smell of  a predator, such as cat’s  urine, and birds in a nest  will lie low when the  silhouette of a hawk flies overhead.

Love Bonding and attachment are also both universal, but love is a subjective state. Some animals, such as swans, will form long-term mating bonds that last for much of their lives.

Sadness Any dog owner will attest to the ability of a pet  to show signs of depression  or sadness. Some wild  animals, such as elephants and chimpanzees, have been shown to mourn their dead.

Happiness Social mammals are particularly good at  displays of affection  and “happiness”. Young wolves, which live in a  pack, will clearly show  signs of being content  and “happy”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/worried-it-was-only-you-even-crayfish-can-feel-anxiety-scientists-show-9532781.html

Dr. Joseph Himle "Social Anxiety: A Hidden Disorder"