Медичний центр "Трансформація">Panic attack

Panic attack

Panic attack (PA) is considered one of the serious mental disorders and occurs mainly in young people aged 18 to 35 years, and is also observed in postmenopausal women. It is accompanied by attacks of anxiety and unreasonable manifestations of fear, which can last from 5-10 minutes to 1-1.5 hours.

If left untreated, panic disorders lead to sleep disturbance, the development of depressive states or phobias, and exhaustion of the nervous system. Timely and adequate treatment, which is aimed at eliminating the causes of PA, will help to avoid complications.

Panic attacks: causes

The main etiological factor of panic attacks is comorbidities: mental disorders, neurosis, vegetative-vascular dystonia. However, other factors can provoke the appearance of seizures:

constant stress;
suspiciousness;
emotional lability;
tendency to experience, anxiety;
low resistance to stress;
chronic fatigue syndrome;
nervous tension;
depressive disorders;
psycho-emotional shocks;
diseases of the nervous system;
physical, intellectual, emotional overwork;
suffered violence;
disruption of the endocrine system;
sleep disorders;
abuse of alcohol, drugs, stimulants, antidepressants;
pregnancy;
genetics.

Finding the real cause of a panic attack is the main task for specialists. Only after determining the etiology of seizures will it be possible to choose an adequate treatment regimen.
Panic attack: symptoms

Panic attack: symptoms

The main symptom of PA is the sudden onset of an attack, accompanied by unmotivated anxiety, an overwhelming sense of fear of imminent death, and a complete loss of self-control. It is this feature that makes it possible to differentiate a panic attack from other types of psycho-emotional disorders.

During an attack, the heart rate increases, shortness of breath and other symptoms appear that indicate increased activity of the nervous system:

a sharp jump in blood pressure;
feeling short of breath;
pain in the chest;
tremor of hands, legs;
loss of orientation in space, lack of self-control;
flushes of heat and cold;
impaired perception of the surrounding world;
feeling of numbness, “goosebumps” on the body;
burning of the skin in the face and neck;
nausea;
skin pallor;
dizziness.

Anonymously

We guarantee results and anonymity

Departure

Home visit 24/7

Withdrawal

Improvement of condition within one hour

These symptoms only increase anxiety, especially if there have been attacks before. The problem itself does not cause severe harm to the body, but regularly recurring bouts of unbridled fear can lead to the development of serious psycho-emotional disorders.

Relieving the symptoms of panic attacks with self-selected sedatives and tranquilizers does not reduce the risk of recurrent attacks, and in some cases only aggravates the situation. Sometimes a panic attack can be a sign of a stroke or hypertension. Therefore, differential diagnosis is of particular importance during attacks, during which it is possible to find out whether panic attacks are an independent disease or one of the symptoms of other mental disorders.

Types of panic disorder

A panic attack is a momentary incident of unbearable anxiety that causes a person to feel fearful. Seizures most often occur for no apparent reason and tend to become more frequent. There are several types of PA:

Situational panic attacks. They may arise under the expected or actual occurrence of certain circumstances. For example, with aerophobia, the trigger for a PA may be getting on an airplane, and with claustrophobia, being in an elevator or other enclosed space.
Spontaneous anxiety attacks. Occur for no apparent reason and have no connection with environmental or situational triggers. Unplanned panic attacks occur even in sleep.
Conditional panic attacks. Occur under the influence of chemical or biological triggers of the central nervous system (changes in hormone levels during pregnancy or in the postpartum period, drug or alcohol use).

Panic disorders are more common in women. This is due to the peculiarities of perception and the psyche. It is impossible to get rid of panic attacks on your own with the help of tranquilizers or sedatives. The treatment regimen is selected taking into account the cause of panic attacks.

Our doctors

Gruzina Alina Anatolievna

Narcologist-psychiatrist

Work experience: 8 years

Education: Vinnitsa National Pirogov Medical University (2015), specialization in psychiatry and drug treatment.

Gurenko Tatiana Anatolievna

Narcologist

Work experience: 22 years

Education: Dnepropetrovsk State Medical Academy (1995-2001), internship in psychiatry (2002), specialization in narcology (2007)

Panic Attack Treatment

You can take a full course of therapy for panic disorders in the branches of our clinic in Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi. We employ qualified neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists who have experience in applying modern methods of treating PA in practice. An integrated approach involves the joint use of medications and psychotherapy.

Before starting treatment, the patient undergoes a complete diagnosis: ultrasound of the heart, ECG, MRI of the brain, examination by an endocrinologist, neurologist, cardiologist. This allows you to determine the presence of somatic diseases that are triggers for panic attacks. If they are not found, a neurologist and a psychotherapist are involved in the treatment.

Of particular importance is the correction of the psychosomatics of panic disorders. With the restructuring of the psyche, the frequency of seizures decreases. As part of psychotherapeutic treatment, various methods can be used:

hypnosuggestive therapy (psychological suggestion with a clear focus on stopping anxiety);
cognitive-behavioral therapy (deliverance of the patient from patterns of behavior and thinking that contribute to the occurrence of PA attacks);
autogenic therapy (receiving positive attitudes from a doctor that help protect against stress, overcome panic attacks on your own).

Drug treatment is prescribed individually, taking into account the causes of panic disorders. In severe cases, our specialists may prescribe a course of antidepressants. During drug therapy, it is important to remember that many drugs have a cumulative effect. Therefore, even if in the first few days the effect seems imperceptible, treatment cannot be interrupted.

The author of the article

Alina Anatolievna Gruzina