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Panic Disorder - Panic Disorder Symptom, Cause, Treatment
Panic disorder, one of the anxiety disorders, is characterized by repeated and unexpected attacks of intense fear and anxiety. The central feature of Agoraphobia is anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing or in which help may not be available in the event of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms You may genuinely believe you're having a heart attack or stroke, losing your mind, or on the verge of death. Although the symptoms must peak within 10 minutes, the attacks often peak within a few seconds and the symptoms gradually subside over a period lasting from a few minutes to about a half hour. Not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder for example, many people have one attack but never have another. Many people with panic disorder don't know they have a real and treatable disorder. Chest pain or other chest discomfort . Derealization (feeling unreal) or depersonalization (feeling detached from self)Some are afraid or embarrassed to tell anyone, including their doctors and loved ones, about what they are experiencing for fear of being thought of as a hypochondriac Agoraphobia refers to a fear of being in places where escape might be difficult, or where help might be unavailable in case of a panic attack. It may become impossible for these people to travel beyond what they consider to be their safety zones without suffering severe anxiety . 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.
Symptom of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia
Some are common symptom of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia :
- chest pain or discomfort
- feeling dizzy, unsteady, or faint
- Avoiding or enduring situations with marked stress or anxiety about having a panic attack
- Numbness or tingling
- Becoming house-bound for prolonged periods
- shortness of breath or a smothering feeling;
- chills or hot flushes.
- Fear of being out of control
- Fear of losing control in a public place
Causes of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia
The common causes of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia :
- Brain imaging studies using a technique called positron emission tomography (PET) have shown that people with panic disorder have different amounts of activity in particular areas of the brain (especially an area known as the hippocampus), compared to people without panic disorder.
- Panic disorder can occur with or without agoraphobia , but agoraphobia develops in more than a third of cases.
- A common pattern of onset is the occurrence of occasional unexpected panic attacks that then increase in frequency and are associated with mounting fears of having subsequent attacks.
- In fact, if an individual has panic disorder, his or her immediate relatives are about three times as likely to develop panic disorder than relatives of an individual who doesn't have panic disorder.
- There is a debate between those who think Panic Disorder is caused by a chemical problem in the brain and those who favor a cognitive-behavioral theory.
Treatment of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia
- Antidepressant medications are effective treatments for many people with panic disorder -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Paxil, have become the effective treatments.
- These include antidepressant drugs as well as drugs that are traditionally used for treating anxiety.
- this technique, also called in vivo exposure , involves confronting a feared situation repeatedly, until the situation no longer triggers fear.
- The medications most often used fall into two categories: antidepressant and antianxiety medicines.
- Behavioral therapies that may be used in conjunction with drug therapy include relaxation techniques, pleasant mental imagery, and cognitive behavioral therapy to restructure distorted and potentially harmful interpretations of the experience of severe anxiety.
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