Panic attacks result from psychological trauma. Before, seizures were not considered a disease. Doctors claimed that crises occur in people with a special mental mentality. At the moment, attacks are an independent disease that has symptoms and treatment principles. The consequences of panic attacks have a negative effect on people.
What are panic attacks?
A panic attack is a sharp and unreasonable fear. The patient cannot explain why this is happening and what provoked. The body ceases to obey a person. Breathing quickens, pulse rate increases, sweating intensifies. Pale skin appears, a person can not move his arm and leg. All these symptoms are similar to those that occur with a strong fear.
Panic attacks are characterized by symptoms before the person begins to feel fear. It is impossible to find out the cause of the alarm, as well as to understand what to do in order to get rid of fear.
Additionally, fears for life and health are added, which leads to an aggravation of the situation. At the end of panic attacks, the consequences for the body begin to bother the person. There is an idea that the heart is to blame for everything, but the cardiologist does not find any problems. A neurologist is involved in the treatment of this disease.
A neurotic condition occurs due to a malfunction in the autonomic nervous system. But the reasons for the appearance of attacks have not been fully studied.
Causes of Panic Attacks
People underestimate the health consequences of panic attacks and do not go to the doctor. A small amount of information about this ailment makes us think that this is a mental illness. Fear of the unknown becomes the reason why a visit to a doctor is postponed.
Doctors still have not agreed on what causes the attack. It is known that during attacks changes occur on the part of the nervous system, the production of adrenaline, serotonin and norepinephrine is disrupted.
It is not always possible to find the true cause of PA, but experts agree on one thing - frequent stresses provoke the development of the disease.
The reasons that provoke the onset of the disease:
- External factors influence the occurrence of causeless fears.
- Sensitive people are subject to panic attacks. Their own feelings become too bright. There is a feeling of panic.
- Stress and prolonged anxiety leads to a surge of emotion. This disease is more often susceptible to women, because they are more emotional. Accumulated negativity increases the risk of panic attacks.
- Genetic predisposition. It is proved that patients suffering from panic attacks often have relatives who have encountered this ailment.
- The abuse of alcohol or drugs.
Panic occurring for no reason can lead to thyroid disease. During an attack, signs of vegetative-vascular dystonia appear.
Diagnostics
To avoid the effects of panic attacks, the disease should be detected in a timely manner. Diagnosis of seizures is carried out by a neurologist. The diagnosis is made on the basis of a patient's medical history. The disease sounds like "vegetative-vascular dystonia with a critical course."
Similar symptoms are possible with other diseases:
- violation of the thyroid gland;
- schizophrenia;
- with a sharp change in blood glucose;
- heart disease
- mental disorder.
When diagnosing the disease, it is necessary to find out whether the patient is taking medical or herbal preparations that stimulate the nervous system. This may be excessive consumption of coffee or alcohol. If the symptoms are not a reaction to the drugs, then treatment is carried out.
Attack symptoms
Timely diagnosis allows you to avoid the treatment of the consequences of panic attacks. Symptoms and signs indicating the development of the disease:
- unreasonable fit of fear:
- palpitations
- dizziness;
- chest pain;
- pressure change;
- chills;
- sweating
- nausea;
- lack of control of sensations;
- fear of dying.
What are dangerous PA?
The crisis arises suddenly, nothing portends its beginning. The consequences of panic attacks for the body are different:
- After the crisis, a fear of repeating a similar situation appears. A person can associate their beginning with a room or certain emotions. For this reason, phobias arise. A person is afraid of a new attack, an enclosed space or something else.
- There is a failure in the autonomic system. Pain in the heart causes concern for health. During the attack, the patient calls the doctor, but cannot explain what is happening to him. If the patient focuses on pain in the heart and does not notice other symptoms, for this reason, it is possible to administer a medication that will not bring relief or may harm.
- The consequence of a panic attack can be a car accident, provided that the person was driving. Fear and inability to control emotions leads to inappropriate driver behavior. Therefore, PA require treatment to rule out relapse.
- Fear during a crisis can lead to suicide. A person cannot cope with horror and panic and commits rash actions.
Symptoms and causes of a panic attack may differ from time to time, but there is always unreasonable fear that is not dangerous to humans. But some people do things that lead to sad consequences.
Psychological consequences
One of the consequences of a panic attack is a strong nervous experience. Psychological problems are becoming serious. Fear of repeated attacks does not allow to live fully. A person is afraid that this will happen in public transport, at work, during a trip. The patient is unknowingly waiting for new attacks. He is afraid to be alone, holds an ambulance phone number in a conspicuous place.
If the disease is not treated, then the attacks can be repeated again and again. The sick person avoids noisy places, stops communicating with friends and relatives, refuses to drive a car or use public transport. Such people do not travel, being afraid of losing timely medical care.
If the consequences of panic attacks are not treated, then severe forms of depression arise, which lead to a decrease or loss of performance. In especially severe cases, disability is possible. Patients have their personal lives destroyed, difficulties in relationships appear. All the consequences appear due to the fear of repeated attacks of panic attacks. The doctor prescribes a treatment that reduces the risk of relapse and reduces anxiety.
Social impact
The consequence of panic attacks is increased control of the internal state. Excessive listening to sensations causes additional attacks. Additional guardianship from relatives transfers the patient to the center of universal attention. Patients can additionally cause crises to feel the care and guardianship of loved ones. There are known situations in which people deliberately caused seizures in order to achieve the desired. At first, they controlled the situation, but in the future, an attack arose without their desire.
Excessive custody of loved ones, lack of contact with the outside world, fear of going for a walk or shopping on your own creates social problems for the patient. The patient shifts responsibility for recovery to relatives and doctors, without putting any effort.
The number of panic attacks increases after information about terrorist attacks and air crashes. The death of loved ones provokes the appearance of a new attack. People suffering from the disease, as a rule, weakly resist stressful situations, but for a long period they cope with their emotional state. If nervous tension is stronger than a person, then the first attack occurs.
Therapeutic implications
The consequences after a panic attack do not affect the general condition of the body. This is a psychosomatic problem. Not a single case of the development of a heart attack or stroke due to the disease was recorded.
Panic attacks cause jumps in blood pressure, but hypertension does not occur.
When making a diagnosis, the doctor should rule out a rare disease - pheochromocytoma - adrenal gland disease. At the same time, the body produces a large amount of adrenaline, which causes an increased heartbeat and other symptoms similar to PA. The main difference between patients with pheochromocytoma is that they do not experience a sense of fear, are not afraid of new attacks.
At the moment, there is no accurate data on whether one disease can cause another, but it is known that in some patients diagnosed with panic attacks, pheochromocytoma was detected.
The consequences of panic attacks have only sociological and psychological problems. No pathologies from other organs are detected. The main problem of the disease is fear, which is difficult to get rid of.
Harm from PA
From a panic attack, a person does not go crazy, mental illnesses do not develop, and schizophrenia does not occur. All psychological problems appear due to fear of repeated crises. A strange condition is a consequence of panic attacks.
Periodic attacks train the heart muscle and reduce the development of heart disease. The crisis does not cause the development of other diseases and does not have a significant effect on the body.
Physical manifestations of attacks occur in response to an internal conflict. Desires that contradict each other make one live in constant tension. The inability to cope with emotions and "let off steam" leads to panic attacks.
Is it possible to die during a panic attack?
A panic attack occurs for no reason. Fear and panic are almost uncontrollable. The main fear that occurs during an attack is the fear of death. Panic attacks are known to respond well to treatment. No deaths during the crisis are known.
The consequences of panic attacks do not affect the development of heart or vascular diseases. Lack of treatment provokes psychological problems. The attack itself does not lead to the death of the patient.
Actions during the crisis and prevention
To stop the attack and avoid the consequences of a panic attack, you should know the rules for overcoming the crisis:
- Calm down. Fear of death provokes rash acts. The more a person listens to his feelings, the more signs of a disease he finds. You should try to stop a panic attack.
- Restore breathing. During an attack, breaths become short and shallow, which increases panic. A few deep breaths should be taken.
- Try to relax and turn your attention to external objects. This can be a recount of buttons or strips on the wallpaper.
- During a crisis, the limbs become cold, so you should warm them. You can use a warm stream of water or heating appliances, but only in the absence of high pressure.
- Do not run away, do not try to hide.
- Try to look at yourself from the side. Accept that a panic attack does not pose any health hazard.