- I'm Doctor Frita.
Today, we're going to talk about panic attacks.
The symptoms and the treatment.
Have you ever had an overwhelming, intense surge of fear
and anxiety,
which caused you to have feelings of chest pain,
shortness of breath,
palpitations, numbness?
If so, you may have had a panic attack
and if you did, trust me,
you are not alone.
Today, we're going to talk about the symptoms
of panic attacks
and how to know when it's time to seek treatment.
Keep watching.
(intensifying music)
What is a panic attack?
So, a panic attack is an intense, overwhelming,
sudden feeling of fear and anxiety.
You get this intense feeling
of an imminent threat or danger, or fear.
You get a sudden rush of an impending doom.
What does it feel like when you're having a panic attack?
Well, it can literally feel like you're about to die.
You can have chest pain,
you can have shortness of breath,
you can have numbness,
tinging, sweating.
That's why many people who are having panic attacks
end up going to the emergency room.
Most panic attacks peak over a matter of minutes
and they'll last for less than 30 minutes,
but that time, that duration, can vary.
So, panic attacks can actually last
from a matter of seconds to hours.
Question:
have you ever had a panic attack?
If so, please comment down below
and please share your symptoms of a panic attack.
So, how do you know if what you're having
is actually a panic attack?
Well, there's actually a very specific diagnosis.
According to the DSM-5,
you have to have at least four of 13 symptoms
to be having a panic attack.
Here are the symptoms:
a pounding heart or chest palpitations.
Now, I don't mean a pounding heart
after you just finished going for a jog,
or sprinting up the stairs.
I mean, if you're pretty much in a restful position,
and all of a sudden you feel your heart palpitating,
or you feel a pounding.
Also, chest pain,
or chest discomfort,
can be a symptom of a panic attack,
and sweating.
Again, not after intense exercise
or when the room is really hot.
If you just start suddenly sweating
and it seems like it's not appropriate,
the sweating, or the Diaphoresis,
could also be a symptoms of a panic attack.
Other symptoms include trembling,
shortness of breath,
feeling nauseated,
having dizziness or light-headedness
can be a symptom of a panic attack.
Having chills can be a symptom of a panic attack.
Also, numbness.
A feeling of choking can be another symptom
of panic attack.
Feeling a sense of detachment from yourself
can be a symptom.
If you feel like you are outside of yourself
looking in,
almost an out of body experience,
that could be a symptom.
Also, having a feeling of a loss of control
is a symptom of a panic attack
and the feeling of dying.
It's tricky because you can be having many
of these symptoms at one time,
and so it may not be easy to categorize
if you're having exactly four of these symptoms.
For example, if you are feeling chest pain
and shortness of breath,
and numbness,
then, it's very likely that you could be trembling, also,
but not notice.
At any rate,
for an official diagnosis of a panic attack,
you need to have at least four of these 13 symptoms.
Now that we have identified the symptoms
of a panic attack
in the actual diagnosis of a panic attack,
you may now realize that yes,
you have had a panic attack before.
But if you've had only one or two panic attacks
in a lifetime,
especially if the panic attacks
were surrounding an identifiable, stressful situation,
then that's actually quite common.
For example, if you got a panic attack
after you were in a true dangerous situation,
or if you were about to give a major speech,
or had a really big life-changing interview,
and got a panic attack,
well, those are really stressors,
and yes, it's common to have one or two panic attacks.
It becomes an issue if your panic attacks
are recurring.
If they're recurring,
and if you start to change your behavior,
if you start to exhibit avoidance behavior
to prevent yourself from having a panic attack,
then, the panic attack may actually be a panic disorder.
So, you actually may have a panic disorder
when your have recurrent panic attacks
causing you to avoid doing behaviors
that you think may elicit a panic attack.
It may cause you to want to avoid going shopping
or it might cause you to want to avoid
being around certain people,
and you may have certain expected triggers,
triggers that you know may cause you to have
a panic attack.
So, now you have avoidance behavior,
trying not to be around those things
but then you may also have unexpected trigger
with a panic attack
where you're just in a situation that seems calm,
seems non-stressful,
but you still have a panic attack.
You may wake up from your sleep with a panic attack.
All of this means that you could have
a panic disorder.
Now, if this is the case,
well, now it's time to seek treatment
and yes, there is treatment for panic attacks
and panic disorders.
What you want to do is, again,
be sure you identify and treat early
because you don't want to progress
to yet another disorder, Agoraphobia.
You may have heard of Agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia is when you have such avoidance behavior
that you have an extreme,
some would say irrational fear,
of open spaces,
and public or crowded places.
Agoraphobia may make it so you don't want to go anywhere.
You may not want to ever go to a shopping mall.
You may not ever want to go to a post office.
You may not want to ride public transit
even if you have to.
You may not want to get on a plane, a train.
You may not want to get on a bus.
You may avoid so many things that it really makes
having a regular routine, functional life,
a near impossibility.
Agoraphobia may cause you to actually never want
to leave your house
because you don't want to be anywhere
where you can't escape.
Of note, you can have panic attacks,
or panic disorders,
in the setting of other disorders.
You can have panic disorder in the setting of depression,
or post traumatic stress disorder.
You can have panic disorder in the setting
of substance abuse.
Please be sure to watch my other YouTube videos.
I have a YouTube video on depression,
"Nine Warning Sings."
I also have a YouTube video
on five types of anxiety disorders.
Be sure to watch those YouTube videos
after you finish watching this video.
The good news is that there is treatment
for panic attacks and panic disorders.
You can be treated with psychotherapy
or medication if needed.
There is something called cognitive behavior therapy,
a type of psychotherapy,
where you learn more about your panic attacks.
You learn about your triggers,
you learn what causes you to have your panic attacks.
You also monitor them.
You can keep a journal
and you really talk about the environment,
how you feel the things that surround the panic attacks.
You also learn certain behavioral techniques,
such as breathing, or relaxation techniques.
Things that can perhaps help you
to avoid a panic attack if you feel it coming.
If needed, you may also be treated with medications.
Certain things like the SSRI's,
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
You may even need Benzodiazepines.
The important thing is to identify the problem
so that you can treat or manage the problem.
If, indeed, you are a person
having recurrent panic attacks,
or you feel like you have panic disorder,
please contact your physician.
Seek treatment, find out your options.
I hope you found this information helpful.
If so, please be sure to like this video
and to share it with the people you care about.
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Meanwhile, I want you to do your absolute best
to live your healthiest, happiest life.
I'm Doctor Frita.