Panic Attack Tip Sheet

An overwhelming sense of sudden fear and anxiety is known as a panic attack. These attacks most commonly affect those who suffer from panic disorder however almost all conditions of anxiety can also have panic attacks in their presentation.  When a person experiences repeated panic attacks, it is considered that they are going through a symptom of panic disorder.

Often those afflicted will experience significant anticipatory anxiety which can bring on additional panic attack which can then cycle and repeat itself.

Panic attacks can occur randomly and without warning however often occur in similar places to those where panic attacks have previously been experienced.  In general panic attacks only last minutes and rarely more than an hour, but to sufferers they can feel endless. These attacks begin with an intrusive fear, apprehension or terror and are then accompanied by physical symptoms which include:

• Increased heart rate

• Dizziness

• Faintness

• Sensations of choking or being smothered

• Chest pain

• Trembling

• Feeling detached from surroundings

• Sweating

• Nausea

• Numbness

• Hot or cold flashes

• Feeling of loss of control

Individuals are generally diagnosed with panic disorder when they have reoccurring and unexpected panic attacks. As a result of the panic attacks, sufferers also become worried about having more panic attacks. Usually diagnosis of this disorder involves the sufferer having reoccurring and unexpected panic attacks.

Sufferers of panic attacks can also experience a condition called agoraphobia.  Agoraphobia is the fear of leaving one’s home or entering public or wide open spaces that could potentially be embarrassing or hard to escape from.  Due to the fact that sufferers of panic attacks avoid leaving their home due to the fear that a panic attack could happen while they are in a public place, they therefore have the potential to develop agoraphobia.  Though this may happen it does not happen to all sufferers of panic attacks or panic disorder.  If a sufferer of panic attacks also suffers from agoraphobia they may be able to leave their home, but it is usually done reluctantly and almost always with a high level of anxiety.

The treatment method that is most commonly used for treating panic disorder or panic attacks is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in combination with graded exposure.  This treatment method aims to show sufferers that their fears or that the panic attacks that they may suffer do not really have such terrifying consequences as they may think. By systematically desensitising sufferers to their panic attacks and showing their fears in a different light, the anxiety that they may feel can start to be reduced and in turn the fear of another panic attack can also be reduced.

If you would like to print a copy of the Panic Attack Tip Sheet, click on this link.