Panic Attack
Panic attack; It is a sudden and strong panic-fear attack that occurs with physical symptoms (heart palpitations, inability to breathe) without any threat, danger or apparent reason in reality. Panic attack is a type of anxiety. That period of time when a panic attack occurs is a very frightening moment. The individual may think that he/she is having/will have a heart attack, will be harmed, or will die. The most distinctive feature of a panic attack is not knowing where and when it will occur. It appears suddenly. It usually reaches its highest level in about 10 minutes and usually ends within 15 minutes. It is more common in women.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a psychological/spiritual disorder associated with panic attacks. Many people may experience one or two panic attacks throughout their lives. However, if panic attacks recur unexpectedly and become regular, it is possible to talk about the problem of "panic disorder". The individual's mind records the panic attacks he experiences in the relevant part of the mind and cannot shake them off. For the individual, a panic attack equals a negative experience, equals an unwanted, avoided memory. The individual gradually experiences fear and anxiety that this negative experience will occur at any moment. The fear of having a panic attack at any moment is called panic disorder. Let's try to explain this adventure from the beginning, which starts with a panic attack and gradually evolves into panic disorder.
How Does Panic Disorder Occur?
As a result of the "panic attacks" experienced by the individual in the past causing unwanted, unpleasant physical sensations and the individual interpreting these bodily sensations incorrectly, the individual experiences a state of fear/anxiety regarding mental scenarios such as "I wonder if it will happen again or if I will experience it again" lives and the person becomes alert. This situation is essentially an expectation anxiety. The individual begins to pay more attention to and monitor these bodily sensations that he/she is uncomfortable with and does not want. When he starts to feel similar sensations, he tries to develop various ways to relax himself. He can go to the hospital, use medication… Such behaviors cause the person to avoid avoidance behavior. Cause panic attack to turn into panic disorder ir. It is thought that people with panic disorder are hypersensitive to stress.
Onset
One day, suddenly, for no apparent reason, you feel dizzy. You started to feel that there was an interesting, strange change that you had never experienced before, and that very different things were starting to happen in your body and/or mind. A wave of panic began to form throughout your body very quickly. Heart palpitations, chest pain, tightness in the chest, warmth and sweat in your palms, a feeling of nausea in your stomach, numbness in your body, tingling, tremors, dizziness, a feeling of difficulty breathing, pain in your abdomen, some discomfort that makes you feel like you are going to fall or faint. You started to experience feelings. Since you have never experienced such symptoms before, such a situation left you terrified. At that very moment, you experienced an intense "fear of death or fear of paralysis", thinking that you were having a "heart attack" or a "stroke". Sometimes, as a result of feelings such as feeling strange, dizzy, or feeling strange or different about yourself or your surroundings, you began to fear that you might harm yourself or those around you, thinking that you were "losing control" or "starting to go crazy". In such a situation, you were taken to the nearest doctor or emergency room by your relatives with great fear and anxiety. You were given oxygen or given a sedative injection and sent home. When asked what was wrong with the patient, the doctors said to their relatives: "There is nothing wrong" or "It's because of stress". strong>
Development
This strange state of distress, which recurred for a few minutes at first, made you very uneasy when it reoccurred in another place and time. You gradually became worried. "Is there a problem with my health?" You decided to go to a doctor because of your anxiety. At the hospital you went to, your doctor referred you to different departments and asked for all examinations and tests to be done. Many examinations were performed in the relevant departments, various films were made. ECG, CT and all other examinations were performed in abundance.And the results came at the end of this whole process. Your doctor will say, "Madam/Sir, you are perfectly healthy, there is no problem. The reason for these feelings is only psychological." said. You did not trust your doctor and decided to go to another hospital/doctor. Because panic attacks still continue. So you went again and the result is still the same. All tests are good, all tests are good. And your doctor repeated it. "Your results are good, there is no problem, you are in good health. Get support from a psychologist." He added.
Inability to Accept
You just can't believe it. You thought, "How can I be like this and feel such intense fear/anxiety solely due to psychological reasons?" Sometimes, when you experience such situations, you worry about whether you will experience it again or whether you have a disease that doctors cannot detect. As a result, you decided to research and go to other doctors, even the best ones, and you did. You had many examinations and tests done there, too. Unfortunately, you got the same answers again. They added that you do not have any disease, you have a psychological problem and you should definitely get support from a psychologist.
Research Section
Then a thought came to your mind: Do I have a panic attack? Am I at the beginning of panic attack disease? And you started researching. You started looking at videos, articles, forums and sites on the internet. Ultimately, your mind became confused. Because in some places, you have read articles saying that panic attacks are a very difficult disease, it will take a serious time for you to recover, in fact you will not recover at all, I used a lot of medications but it still did not go away. After all your reading and research, I'm guessing that your mind is confused. You didn't know what to do. You decided to avoid relevant places and situations and take various precautions so that you do not experience panic attacks in the future, and you even put them into practice. After a while, this annoying problem started to take a serious place in your life and eventually you decided to get psychological support, that is, psychotherapy, from a psychologist. Even from a psychiatrist You started to receive medication support.
Despair
Perhaps you received these two supports, but for some reason these two supports did not contribute to you as you wanted and your discomfort It continued the same way. Desperation, hopelessness, disappointment, stress, sadness have become a part of your life. You may wonder, "Is this how life will go, will it continue like this, will I live like this, will I never get better, is there no cure for this?" Questions like these came. These kinds of questions make you more stressed and tense. But I want to tell you this. If you have read this article this far, it means you still have hope. You still believe that you will recover. Maybe those crumbs of your desire to be saved in a corner of your heart will heal you.
What is the Frequency of Panic Disorder?
Epidemiological research shows that the lifetime prevalence of panic disorder is 1.5-3.5%, that is, 15-35 people out of every 1000 people. It is observed that panic disorder more often begins in young adulthood. Although the age of onset is usually in the 20s, it can begin at any time in life. Panic disorder is seen approximately twice as frequently in women as in men.
What Will Be the Course of Panic Disorder If It Is Untreated?
Panic disorder is detected and treated at an early stage. If not done, it may lead to depression and alcohol-substance use in the patient. If something like this happens, it could make things even worse. While panic disorder is a more individual disease, it can gradually turn into a problem involving the family. Additionally, with the increasing severity of the disease, the individual may feel hopeless and helpless. That's why it is necessary to get support from a psychologist who deals with panic attacks without losing any time.
Is Panic Disorder Treatment Possible?
Panic disorder is a condition that is very treatable. It is a disease. It may be possible to eliminate your panic disorder problem with psychotherapy from a psychologist who deals with panic disorders. In addition to psychotherapy, medication support from a psychiatrist who specializes in panic disorder can help make your treatment a little faster. can be reminded. There are medications that are effective in treating panic disorder. For these treatments, it would be appropriate to get support from a psychiatrist who deals with panic disorder. However, although drug treatment is effective, complaints may recur after the treatment ends. For this reason, even if medication is used, psychotherapy is strongly recommended by experts working in this field. Many studies have been conducted investigating the effectiveness of psychotherapy in the treatment of panic disorder.
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