The presence of 4 of the following symptoms in the form of attacks and the absence of a medical physical condition that would explain the situation is sufficient for the diagnosis of "panic attack" to be made.
Panic attack symptoms:
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Pain or tightness in the chest,
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Heart palpitations, rapid heartbeats or feeling very hard
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Dizziness, feeling light-headed, feeling like you're going to fall or faint
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Shortness of breath, air hunger or feeling like you are suffocating
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Shortness of breath
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Sweating, feeling of chills
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Numbness, tingling, numbness
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Feeling of cold, flushing,
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Nausea , vomiting or abdominal pain
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Trembling, shaking feeling
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Feeling of alienation, feeling that your body or the environment is different, feeling of strangeness .
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Fear of death
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Fear of losing control or going crazy
If there is an anxious expectation of another attack after the attack, then we call the diagnosis "panic disorder", but as commonly used in my article, I also call panic disorder as panic attack. If there are fewer than 4 symptoms above, but the process is similar to an attack, we call this situation a "limited panic attack".
Panic attack symptoms begin suddenly, become increasingly severe, reach a maximum level within 10 minutes, and rarely last for 1 hour. It got this name because of the fear of death, going crazy, or losing control, and because it comes in attacks.
Between attacks, the person constantly experiences the fear of experiencing the same situation again. The person's mind is constantly preoccupied with the possible bad consequences of a panic attack (I will die, have a heart attack, go crazy, my children will be left behind, etc.).
The person may not be able to go out due to fear of the attack, or may stay away from places that remind him of the attack. He/she may carry water, food, medicine and similar things with him that he thinks are protective.
Classic panic attack symptoms include intense fear and sadness. Some people are afraid of having a heart attack when no one is home, dying before they can get to the hospital or get help, or losing control. They are afraid of losing their life and going crazy and committing suicide. Another group may be very afraid of harming themselves or their relatives with a knife or something similar, or of being embarrassed by acting crazy and strange in the presence of others. These thoughts and fictions cause intense fear and sadness in people.
Agoraphobia: The situation where people cannot go to places where they think a Panic Attack will occur, or cannot stay in those places, is called Agoraphobia. The person cannot stay at home or go out alone, cannot take vehicles or elevators, and can enter places such as shopping malls and markets either out of fear or if someone is with them. This condition, Agoraphobia, is present in approximately 60 out of every hundred people.
It is normal for the symptoms to gradually change during the attack. For example, someone who goes to the emergency room 3 times with the fear of having palpitations and seizures is no longer afraid of palpitations, but may experience a slight dizziness or numbness and fear of having a stroke.
Dear readers, please check whether the fear you are experiencing is a panic attack in the light of the information above and Don't be afraid to get help on this issue. Panic attacks are a disorder that can be completely cured with psychotherapy, medication support and life changes.
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