An Overview of the Terms "Fear, Anxiety, Panic"
In our daily lives, we often use the terms fear, anxiety, worry, panic interchangeably. In fact, each needs to be explained separately in order to better understand the situation.
Fear is all of the warnings that allow a person to be alert and take precautions against a real, clearly identifiable danger that is usually outside. It arises suddenly, is limited to the moment, and produces signals such as sweating, trembling, rapid heartbeat, rapid breathing, which activate the body and prepare it for the new situation (“fight or flight” response). Anxiety, in other words, anxiety is closely related to the feeling of fear. However, it contains warnings that are more unknown than fear, that come from within, or that have their origins in some internal conflicts. Compared to fear, it is an emotion that is more unexpected, longer lasting, more common, comes on more slowly, and is more difficult to define.
Am I Having a "Panic Attack"?
Panic attack is a distinct period that manifests itself from time to time, in which feelings of fear and anxiety are experienced together and intensely. A number of “physical” and “cognitive (thought-related)” symptoms appear in response to perceived danger, which begin within a few seconds and usually reach a peak in 10 minutes or less. palpitations, sweating, tremors or tremors, shortness of breath or feeling like choking, chest pain or tightness in the chest, nausea or abdominal pain, dizziness, inability to stand, light-headedness or fainting, numbness, tremors, chills, chills While sensations such as hot flashes or hot flashes constitute bodily symptoms, unreality or self-alienation, thoughts of losing control or going crazy, dying, having a heart attack or stroke constitute cognitive symptoms.
During a panic attack, physical and cognitive symptoms are in constant interaction. I can explain this with an example as follows; You are at your workplace, in a meeting, and suddenly you have a palpitation (physical symptom)... Some thoughts arise. “What if I have a panic attack right now? From the meeting I might have to go out, people might think I'm weak, useless. If I can't get out of the environment, I might lose control and faint." (cognitive symptoms). Your interest in the meeting diminishes and you become more concerned with your bodily symptoms. Your breathing quickens, you begin to sweat and tremble (physical symptom). What if.. your thoughts continue; your anxiety level increases even more; maybe you will leave the meeting later. In this example, we see that somatic symptoms increase negative thoughts and anxiety, while negative thoughts also exacerbate somatic symptoms.
It can occur in many mental disorders such as panic attacks, anxiety disorders, depression, alcohol and substance-related disorders, as well as in general medical conditions such as low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), goiter, epilepsy, heart diseases. may also occur. First, underlying medical conditions should be carefully investigated. If your doctor has done all the examinations and laboratory examinations he deems appropriate for your panic attacks and has not found any reason for a physical illness, consulting a specialist about your symptoms will both reduce your anxiety and enable you to take the first step for treatment. Otherwise, the insistence that you have a physical illness may cause you to focus more on your somatic symptoms, thus intensifying or even appearing your panic attacks.
A Condition that Needs Treatment: “Panic Disorder”
The person with panic disorder suddenly and unexpectedly has any apparent triggering cause unrelated to any specific object or situation. experiences panic attacks and is in intense anxiety and sadness because he will experience attacks again. They may not want to enter certain environments (e.g., crowded places such as supermarkets, cinemas, places where it will be difficult to escape such as cars, planes, buses, subways) in order to avoid being exposed to attacks, or they may start to avoid certain activities (e.g. physical exercise, sexual intercourse, caffeine). Detailed investigation of these and similar conditions of the patient, possible causes and triggers It is very important in terms of treatment to reveal the pathogens and to illuminate other underlying mental pathologies, if any.
Treatment can be planned in two ways as short-term and long-term treatment. Short-term treatment includes medications, information about the problem, or initiation of psychological treatments. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is a proven treatment method in terms of preventing relapses and relapses, especially in long-term treatment. Considering that the main problem here is at the cognitive level, it is obvious that the steps to be taken to understand and change thoughts, plus the use of other cognitive and behavioral methods such as anxiety management, exposure or exposure, and breathing exercises will be effective in the treatment. Whereas; A treatment method with only medication will be insufficient or incomplete in the presence of undesirable drug-related side effects, the person cannot use the drug (such as physical illness, pregnancy and breastfeeding period) or the disease reappears after the drug is discontinued, and the person will not be able to use the drug in the future. will deprive him of the skills necessary to cope.
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