Overcoming Anxiety Attack Symptoms

How do you know if you’re experiencing panic attack symptoms and not a heart attack?

Do you feel suddenly terrified – your heart starts pumping and your palms sweat – when you get in a particular place such as an elevator, a shopping mall, a subway or even when you step onto your own porch?

Do panic attacks occur only after severe trauma?

Are they psychological in origin, or can there be some other factor?

Is it possible to overcome them?

Here’s a chance to see how much you know about panic disorder. All answers are either true or false.

1. Panic attacks are always triggered by a major trauma.
2. Good situations that somehow lead to severe stress can never trigger panic attacks.
3. Panic attacks always last for only a few minutes.
4. If someone you know suffers from panic attacks, the best advice is to tell him to relax, try to sleep it off or take a tranquilizer.
5. Most experts agree that panic attacks are completely unrelated to any genetic or physiological problem.
6. Panic attacks and phobias are somewhat related to one another.
7. Panic attacks can sometimes be mistaken for heart attacks.
8. Panic disorder is usually not treatable.

Panic Attack Symptoms – Answers:

1. FALSE. Sensations of panic can occur spontaneously, but usually they are triggered by some trauma.
2. FALSE. Both positive and negative life stresses can trigger panic attacks. Weddings, childbirth, accidents, illness and death are common triggers.
3. FALSE. Sometimes panic attacks last for a relatively brief time, but they can also last for hours or even days.
4. FALSE. Advising someone to relax, go to sleep or take a tranquilizer doesn’t help much when someone is suffering from a panic attack. The best advice is to seek out professional help as quickly as possible.
5. FALSE. A panic attack is considered a medical-psychiatric condition. It probably has some genetic and biological components, according to Dr. Laslo Papp, director of the Anxiety Disorder Program at Hillside Hospital in Long Island, N.Y.
6. TRUE. Panic attacks can precipitate phobias, such as agoraphobia, the fear of leaving one’s home.
7. TRUE. Panic attacks elevate heart and breathing rates and can even cause chest pains, symptoms that one can experience when having a heart attack.
8. FALSE. Panic disorder is definitely treatable, and there are a number of excellent hospitals and centers that offer treatment.

As a guide, if you answered six to eight of these questions correctly, you’re above average in your knowledge of panic attack disorders and its symptoms.

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