A anxiety crisis or panic attack It is an intense episode of anxiety that is usually accompanied by fear. You feel your heart racing, you can’t breathe, you feel like you are going crazy or even that you might die. If left untreated, panic attacks can develop into panic disorder and interfere with the person’s life by avoiding certain situations in their daily life. With proper treatment, anxiety attacks can be reduced or eliminated. In this PsychologyFor article, we explain Anxiety attacks, their symptoms and treatment.
An anxiety crisis is a intense episode of fear which is characterized by being unexpected, tiring and disabling. It usually appears suddenly. Sometimes, there is no clear trigger for the attack, it can occur at any time, when you are doing sports, while you are traveling…
An anxiety attack can be an isolated episode, but many people often experience episodes on several occasions. Typically, repeated panic attacks are triggered by a specific stimulus, like entering an elevator, also if that stimulus has already caused an anxiety crisis at another time, the probability is greater. Generally, an anxiety crisis occurs when the person feels fear and cannot find a way to avoid the feared situation.
Anxiety attacks can occur independently or these anxiety attacks may occur as part of another disorder such as depression, social phobia… Whether the anxiety attack occurs independently or in the context of a disorder, it is treatable.
Common symptoms of anxiety attack
An anxiety crisis can present a wide variety of symptoms, since each person is different, but some general symptoms are:
Shortness of breath or hyperventilation.
Tachycardia.
Pain or discomfort in the chest.
Shaking.
Feeling of suffocation or lack of air.
Sweating.
Nausea or upset stomach.
Feel dizzy.
Sensations of numbness and tingling.
Cold or hot flashes.
Fear of losing control, of dying…
An anxiety crisis can appear at any time: while driving, studying, playing sports…
The physical symptoms of an anxiety attack must be differentiated from those physical symptoms whose origin is a physical pathology.
Many of the symptoms of an anxiety crisis are physical and in many cases the symptoms are so intense that the person thinks they are having a heart attack, due to the similarity of the symptoms. Many people who have anxiety attacks go to the doctor repeatedly because they believe they have symptoms of medical origin. Something essential is to rule out possible physical causes of symptoms such as tachycardia, chest discomfort or breathing failures…
Anxiety crisis: treatment
Panic attacks can be successfully treated. Mainly, there are two types of treatment for anxiety attacks:
Psychotherapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy: It is generally considered the most effective treatment for anxiety attacks and other related disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on those thoughts and behaviors that support or trigger panic attacks. It helps the person look at their fears in a more realistic way.
Exposure therapy: In this therapy, the person is exposed to the physical symptoms characteristic of their anxiety attacks in an “artificial” environment, which is considered suitable for the practice. In this way, he can learn effective ways to cope with the symptoms. You are asked to hyperventilate, hold your breath and other types of exercises. In this way, similar symptoms of anxiety attacks are provoked within a safe context. Exposures allow the person to feel less fear of these sensations and have greater control over them.
Medication
Medication can be used temporarily to reduce symptoms when they are very severe. Keep in mind that it does not solve the problem. Medication can be helpful in cases with more disabling symptoms, although it is recommended as a complementary treatment and not as the only treatment. It is more effective when combined with psychological therapy and changes in the person’s behavior.
The psychotropic drugs for anxiety attacks include:
Antidepressants: Their effects begin to be noticed after taking them for several weeks, so they should be taken continuously and not only when an anxiety crisis occurs.
Benzodiazepines: They are anxiolytics that act quickly (30 minutes-1 hour). Taking them during an anxiety crisis produces a rapid remission of symptoms. We must bear in mind that benzodiazepines can cause addiction and present withdrawal symptoms, therefore, controlled use is recommended.
This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Anxiety crisis: symptoms and treatment we recommend that you enter our Clinical Psychology category.
