“This thing that suddenly appeared scares me so much. First, for no apparent reason, I feel a slight chest pain, a feeling of tightness and sometimes palpitations, of which I don't know the reason. This may sometimes be accompanied by nausea, tingling or dizziness. Then, slowly, uneasiness and uneasiness begin to settle over me. The palpitations I feel and the difficulty in breathing make me think that I cannot keep control. While I count my pulse, I also start listening to my whole body to see what's going on in my body. Then everything gets worse. My body feels numb, my brain is tingling, I can't breathe, why am I suddenly sweating so much and my hands are shaking? What if I faint? Am I having a heart attack? Maybe it is a brain hemorrhage?
If we ask a person who has experienced a panic attack before or who still continues to experience panic disorder to tell us what he is experiencing; It wouldn't be wrong to expect him to express himself this way.
So why do people with this problem think this way? Why do they feel this way? and What is the reason for this problem they are experiencing?
In fact, many people who have panic attacks cannot find the real answer to these questions and cannot make sense of the process they are experiencing. It wouldn't be wrong to say that one of the main reasons why they feel this way, think this way and experience panic attacks is that they cannot find satisfactory answers to these questions. For this reason, it is important for people who have panic attacks or have been diagnosed with panic disorder to know panic attack, panic disorder and the difference between the two for treatment.
Panic attack;
10 minutes of sudden onset with anxiety and frightening physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, sweating, tremors, feeling of suffocation, nausea, dizziness, anxiety of losing control, fear of death, numbness, feeling of unreality, hot or cold flashes It can be defined as fear attacks that increase in intensity to the most intense level and usually last between 10 and 30 minutes and then disappear on their own.
Panic disorder; It is a period of experiencing unexpected attacks after the first panic attack, fear of having another attack, and anxiety about the consequences of the attacks. It is a disorder that significantly restricts a person's life and causes certain changes in their behavior.
When it comes to panic attacks, it may come to mind that only people diagnosed with panic disorder can experience this disorder, but panic attacks and symptoms similar to panic attacks are psychiatric disorders other than panic disorder. It can also be seen in people with disorders and physical illnesses. Therefore, before starting the panic attack treatment or psychotherapy process, it is necessary to make sure that the current symptoms are not caused by another medical problem.
So what kind of process do people with Panic attacks or Panic Disorder go through and what do they experience?
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Details such as how the person experienced his first panic attack, what physical symptoms he experienced during the attack, and the severity of these physical symptoms are important for the fight against panic attacks in the future. Patients often describe their first panic attack experience as a complete disaster. Because even though they experience an intense feeling of fear during the attack, they cannot find the object they fear. For example: When a person is frightened by a pitbull dog coming towards him, he is aware that the source of the fear and subsequent heart palpitations is the dog. However, the person experiencing a panic attack for the first time feels in intense uncertainty because he cannot find what causes the fear and cannot determine the source of the fear. This uncertainty makes the situation he is in even more difficult and his fear begins to increase even more. In fact, this is the beginning of a panic attack.
Although what really scares the person here are their thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs that bad things will happen, most people who experience attacks cannot notice these details during the attack. He stays where he is for minutes, trying to cope with the attack and find the answer to what happened to him, and on the other hand, trying to find the safe option for himself. Some try to go to the balcony, some try to open the window, some try to wash their hands and face, and some try to reach the hospital as soon as possible. Even most patients who reach the hospital in panic during the first attack cannot understand what happened to them that day. As a result of medical examinations performed after the necessary intervention in most patients, It is said that nothing was found and that he had nothing. However, this answer is not at all satisfactory for the person experiencing a panic attack. This is exactly where everything begins.
The person who is exposed to intense fear and panic during the attack and cannot find a satisfactory answer perceives this attack as an uncertain, dangerous and life-threatening traumatic experience. What's even worse is that the person now has to continue his life with this traumatic experience. The brain, which is psychologically battered after this traumatic experience; Beliefs such as I am not safe, I am in danger, and I may lose control at any moment begin to develop. A person with these beliefs perceives the slightest palpitation, slight tremor, sweating or dizziness as a threatening stimulus. The attention of the person who perceives his/her physical sensations as a threatening stimulus gradually shifts to his/her body, and the person constantly listens to himself/herself throughout the day and begins to look for some problems in his/her body.
The radar for finding these problems is not only against the physical symptoms, but after a while; It also begins to scan for external stimuli such as being left alone at home, taking the bus, passing through a tunnel, taking an elevator, going out alone, getting on a plane, etc. The person begins to believe that he will have a panic attack if he does or is exposed to these activities; Under the influence of both internal and external threats; The person becomes more intensely caught up in the thoughts of what if I have a heart attack, what if I have another attack, or what if I become breathless, and the person begins to find himself in a world of intense postponements and avoidances. The person whose life begins to be seriously restricted and affected, after a while, finds himself in a vicious circle where he feels more depressed and anxious. It is really difficult to live in this vicious circle.
So how can a person get out of this vicious circle? Can panic disorder be cured?
In fact, our brain has the power to heal negative events and traumatic experiences due to its natural function. However, sometimes there may be situations where our brain cannot fulfill its duties fully. For example: Some of the family members who had an accident while traveling in the same car may not be able to get into the car again after the accident, while others may continue to travel by car. This situation suddenly There could be many reasons. Factors such as the person's past traumatic experiences, vulnerability level, psychological resilience will make a difference in the evaluation of the event, and recording this event as a traumatic event at the time of the accident may also cause this.
Based on this, if we consider the experience of a panic attack; With the influence of the above factors, the person may begin to experience panic disorder. However, when we consider all these factors, we can say that the common point that all of them meet is that people who are exposed to attacks have beliefs such as "I am not safe", "I am in danger", "I may lose control". When we consider this entire network of relationships, the importance of psychotherapy support, as well as psychiatric medication support, for people suffering from panic attacks comes to the fore. Because unless the network of relationships within the person's traumatic experiences is resolved and the traumas are healed, the existing problem may continue and turn into a resistant panic disorder.
In order to take precautions for this situation, it is of great importance to work in the light of the psychotherapy method appropriate to the person's problem and needs. If we define the psychotherapy process as a process in which the person discovers himself and rebuilds his mental state; One of the beliefs that are tried to be rebuilt while working with panic disorder and which is one of the most basic needs of the person is to feel safe.
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