In the high- pressured, dangerous world we live in today, it is difficult to escape feelings of acute tension, stress and anxiety that frequently lead to panic attacks. Stress victims are to be found in every walk of life. If you often feel stressed, extremely anxious and unable to cope, it may be due to a variety of different reasons. Whatever the reason it is important for you to recognize that severe stress could be harmful to your health. Stress is regarded by medical science as one of the most important contributory factors in many illnesses. Hypertension, high blood pressure, heart attacks, asthma, skin disorders, stomach ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis and many other medical problems are all believed to be directly related to stress. Your stress may be due to money problems, family disagreements, unhappiness in your home, unpleasant conditions at work, concerns about the welfare of your children, uncertainty about your future or a wide range of different fears - some real, some exaggerated; some imagined.
It makes no difference whether your fear is real or imagined, the mental suffering from self-induced stress can be just as harmful to your health. When a person has been under stress for some, it often results in a condition known as "panic disorder". It is condition that is becomingly increasingly common.. "Panic disorder" is described as a psychiatric condition that brings about recurrent waves of panic that sometimes persist for lengthy periods. It is an emotional state accompanied by feelings of dread that something terrible is about to happen. People who suffer from these panic attacks are sometimes fearful of getting on a bus; or entering a strange house.; or even going to a supermarket. These panic attacks can occur without warning. They are often unrelated to a specific incident or event. Very often these feelings of panic are accompanied by alarming physical symptoms such as dizziness, tightness in the chest or the throat, shortness of breath, a racing pulse, or hot flushes.
There is a two way of treating panic attack, one is by meditation and another one is by medication. first we will discuss about meditation. Here are two meditation techniques that are helpful to the students
Meditation practice 1: 1. Depending on your religious background, select your favorite Deity or Guru. 2. Sit in a comfortable pose, close your eyes and imagine yourself to be present in your favorite temple of the Deity or Guru. Feel the presence and chant the mantra associated with deity. If you do not know the mantra, just frame a sentence in your own words as prayer and repeat it. 3. Maintain the awareness continuously for 10-15 minutes. Then open your eyes and start your routine work. Meditation practice 2: This is very effective for relaxing your mind. It combines the benefits of music also. 1. Listen your favorite music and song. 2. Now visualize the words of the song. Maintain your awareness at the word, which you are currently hearing. 3. Just imagine a single word, which is current. Switch over to the next word as soon as it is heard. Extend this process further by imagining the current alphabet as the song is played. After meditation, here comes now medication. Medication may include a prescription of various medicines that are used to treat anxiety and depression like SSRIs or selective serotonin reputake inhibitors that include Prozac and Paxil. Others include benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax that are known to decrease the discomfort associated with it. Aside from these treatment options, the following may also help stop panic disorders:
1. Lifestyle changes and modification. Several over-the-counter medications, various alcoholic drinks, and prescription and illegal drugs can make anxiety and depression worse so it is best of you stop taking in these once the doctor has diagnosed your condition. If you are not getting enough sleep or you're working excessive and extensive hours, you are not eating healthy foods, and you don't have a regular exercise, you only increase your risk of developing a panic disorder. It is best if you get rid of these toxicities and stress to veer away from possible attacks.
2. Changes in diet. Avoid foods that have high amounts of sugar, processed foods, caffeine and alcohol because these are known as major triggers of anxiety and depression. Try to shift to a diet that mainly consists of lean meat, veggies and fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairies, and healthy fat.
3. Workout. By now, you should know the wonders and benefits of exercise. If you are prone to panic attacks caused by panic disorder, you should start developing a routine that includes exercise to help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
4. Relaxation techniques. The fast-paced and stressful world often opens up to a lot of stressful avenues. If you are prone to anxiety attacks and depressions, meditation and visualization can help you to calm down and relax. If you think that you are on the brink of a panic attack due to stress and constraints the fast-paced, modern world has brought, it is best that you assess your condition so you know if you need to seek professional and medical help.
What Causes Panic Attack
The feeling that everything is swirling around you and that the world is ending right before your eyes is a horrible experience. When you have a panic disorder, however, this can be a fairly regular occurrence during times of stress. If you've felt these kinds of out of control feelings before, you might have suffered from a panic attack. But to make sure that you are doing what's best for your body, here is the basic background on panic attacks, what they feel like, and when you should seek help.
Defining Panic Attacks
In truth, there are a lot of possible definitions of panic attacks - and they vary from person to person. But what is known is that panic attacks occur when the body gets a rush of adrenaline, causing it to feel the 'fight or flight' response. The body becomes very excited and energized, but also tense and nervous while the adrenaline moves through the blood stream. These attacks can often last for twenty minutes to up to a few hours, depending on how fast the adrenaline can be used up.
Often without a discernable cause, panic attacks are generally precipitated by a stressful event, but can also occur for no reason at all. When a person has a panic attack the first time, it can often lead to subsequent panic attacks because the person now fears that it will happen again and again.
Possible Symptoms
Just as every person is different every panic attack can have different signs and symptoms. These symptoms can include:
Palpitations, fast heart rate
Sweating and flushing of the skin
Shaking
Feeling short of breath, or choking
Chest discomfort or pain
Nausea or digestive distress
Feeling lightheaded, dizzy or as though you may faint
Feelings of things being 'unreal'
Feeling detached from the world around you
Fear of losing control
Fear of going crazy
Fear of dying
Tingling feelings
Chills or hot flashes
These signs can come one at a time, or all at once, depending on the severity of the panic attack. Some people will only feel a few moderate symptoms, which others liken the panic attack experience to feeling like they were having a heart attack.
A pure panic attack is not necessarily a dangerous event. More than 5% of the population will experience one at one point of their life or another.
But this is the main reason why panic attacks require some sort of medical treatment or attention. Because their symptoms are so similar to more serious and deadly medication events, you need to know when to call in a professional opinion.
When You Need Medical Attention
Determining when you might need medical attention is a tricky proposition. Because your body is surging with adrenaline, it can certainly feel as though you are dying, even if you are not.
It's always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to chest related symptoms. If you feel pain or pressure in your chest that does not go away, you need immediate medical attention. Chances are pretty good that you are only having a panic attack, but in the case that you may not be, you need immediate assistance to prevent heart damage.
Another time when you might want to seek medical help is if your heart rate is extraordinarily high. That is, if your heart rate is over 120 beats per minute and it stays there. This excessive heart beat can also cause heart damage as well as more serious medical events. Again, having an emergency technician check you out is the best advice.
Both Nick Clipton & Grant Eckert are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.