When a person experiences the extremely terrifying symptoms of a panic attack, their levels of anxiety and fear can grow. Panic attacks are part of an anxiety disorder and cause sudden physical and mental attacks that can completely incapacitate the person. These panic attacks are so consuming that people often develop panic disorders from them.

During a panic attack, which the causes of are not directly known, the person may associate certain places or things with irrational fear. This can cause a panic disorder to form, where the patient develops phobias and then will attempt to avoid them. Often these symptoms build on one another until the person cannot perform daily functions or live a normal lifestyle. Extreme fear of a panic attack can actually cause a panic attack to occur. Panic attacks that happen more than once are a symptom of panic disorder.

A major symptom of panic disorder develops from phobias of specific places, people, objects or sensations. The person will then begin avoidance behavior and may develop agoraphobia, or the inability to leave the house, drive a car or perform other normal daily functions. Someone who develops agoraphobia will begin to have their entire life consumed by fears.

The increased anxiety levels shown by people suffering from panic disorders can have other negative effects as well. Panic disorders increase the likelihood of the person developing depression, claustrophobia, and substance or alcohol abuse and may increase the thoughts or actions of suicide. Depression and increased anxiety can also allow other psychiatric disorders to develop such as schizophrenia and delusions.

Getting help for the symptoms of panic disorder is essential to having a healthy life. Over 19million people in the United States suffer from panic disorder and specific phobias. You are not alone, there are many treatment options to panic disorders, you just have to take the first step and realize that you have a problem.

Many people who experience panic attacks have no idea what is happening to them and end up thinking that they either have a heart condition or that they are going insane. If you are unsure about whether or not you are having panic attacks, then I hope that this article will clear up some of the uncertainty for you.

A panic attack is a period of intense discomfort and fear that lasts only for a few minutes (although it feels much longer).  The symptoms that accompanies a panic attack differs from person to person, but the following 5 are most common:

1. Shortness of breath / having trouble breathing
2. A tingling sensation or “needles and pins” in your arms or legs.
3. Chest pains or a tightness in the left side of the chest.
4. An intense feeling of dread or impending doom.
5. A sense of unreality or being disconnected from your surroundings.

When experiencing these symptoms, it is very common to fear that you are going crazy or busy dying, but it is important to understand that the above things are all just sensations that result from the body’s “fight or flight” response and that none of these sensations are physically harmful.

The  first step in eliminating panic attacks is to understand how they work and why you experience the above sensations. Once you understand what is happening inside your body during a panic attack, these sensations will be less terrifying and you will already be over the first hurdle towards completely eliminating these panic attacks from your life.

There are many panic attack resources available online that can help you with this, but the one that I have been most impressed with is the Panic Away program by Joe Barry. Panic Away is a self help program that explains how panic attacks work in great detail  and how to eliminate them using the popular “One Move Technique“.

I know from experience that the above sensations can be terrifying, but I can assure you that it is possible to eliminate panic attacks from your life completely, no matter how severe they are.