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The questionnaire should not be considered as a diagnosis, only as a guide to sign levels. In this case, it is always recommended to consult a qualified professional for a complete assessment.
Panic syndrome is linked to anxiety attacks and induces the individual to experience crises of anxiety, fear and terror, and when it is not treated, over time, it causes behavioral changes.
It affects more people than most people realize. Unlike single anxiety and fear attacks , this syndrome is characterized by frequent episodes of panic, excessive sweating, a feeling of death, tremors and heart clenching.
The person becomes afraid of very simple activities, such as leaving the house, for example. Do you know what to do to treat panic disorder?
Under these conditions, those who suffer from the attacks end up acquiring different fears, ranging from turning on the lights to traveling by car. However, it is possible to overcome the syndrome with proper treatment, combined with some attitudes that can help to overcome crises more quickly.
In today’s post, you’ll check out some tips to overcome this condition and get back to living without fear. To learn more, read on!
1. Recognize and Understand Panic Syndrome
Recognizing that you need help is a big step towards healing. When you feel your heart racing in certain situations, such as fear of going places or any of the other symptoms you saw above, pay attention to the context.
Begin to analyze what causes you fear, what situations you feel vulnerable in, and whether it affects your physical state. Understanding what triggers a panic attack is the first step in treating the syndrome.
Panic Disorder, or Panic Syndrome (set of symptoms), is a condition of accentuated anxiety , presenting the same symptoms of anxiety, however, in a more intense way.
The feeling of generalized and sudden anxiety happens spontaneously. It is also often recurrent, manifesting itself with some frequency.
Due to the symptoms it triggers, the person believes that they are in terrible danger, that they will die of suffocation, suffer a heart attack or have a stroke.
He also believes that he will lose control of his own body, thoughts and emotions or that he will faint or go crazy at any moment.
The DSM-V distinguishes between unexpected attacks (not flagged) situationally predisposed attacks and attacks triggered situationally (flagged).
The former seem to “come out of nowhere” and do not reveal to be associated with any situational “trigger”. They are essential for a diagnosis of panic disorder, although they occur in other disorders as well.
Seconds do not invariably occur after exposure to certain situations or signs, although the presence of these signs increases the likelihood of a panic attack.
The latter occur invariably or immediately from exposure to a situational “trigger” and are characteristic of specific and social phobias.
Research shows that panic disorder affects twice as many women as men; especially between 18 and 40 years old. Statistics show that the number of people identified with the psychological disorder of this syndrome in the world grows every year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the disorder affects 4% of the world population, which represents approximately 280 million people.
It is estimated that about 4% of the Brazilian population has experienced panic attacks throughout their lives, with approximately 1% of the total developing the disorder. (WHO, 2017)
Panic syndrome can trigger phobias that, little by little, limit the individual’s life, who isolates himself from the environment, friends, family, with a tendency to become more and more reclusive.
It is worth pointing out that the incidence of suicide increases up to three times in people with panic. (KAPCZINSKI, 2004)
There are three factors that give rise to panic: genetic, biological and psychosocial.
Although there is no specific cause capable of triggering the disorder, genetic and behavioral factors, such as stress, sudden losses and illnesses, and changes in the way the brain reacts to certain situations, can indicate a predisposition to the condition.
Panic Syndrome is characterized by sudden crises accompanied by intense and irrational fear of imminent death, apparently without factors to justify this symptom, but it leaves the individual feeling incapable.
Guerra (2015) points out that panic syndrome tends to affect women more than men and can be triggered by some considered risk factors, such as:
- Extreme stress situations ;
- Death or illness of a close person;
- Radical changes in life;
- History of sexual abuse during childhood;
- Having gone through some traumatic experience, such as an accident.
The syndrome can appear after traumatic situations experienced by this person and the crises last from five to twenty minutes and tend to be recurrent and may be repeated several times.
The main symptoms of these crises are: anxiety, pallor, weakness, intense sweating, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, tremors, fainting and a feeling of death.
There may be periods of spontaneous improvement in this disorder, but in general, they do not go away without effective treatment.
There are three types of initial seizures:
- The spontaneous crisis, the situational crisis (triggered by a specific situation) and the nocturnal crisis.
- After the first crisis, the second phase begins, which is the anticipatory anxiety phase, the phase of fear of having another crisis. A growing insecurity, where you are not sure you are well enough to handle the simplest daily activities.
- As a result, the third phase appears, which is the phase of agoraphobic avoidance , where the person needs to be accompanied by people who can help him. In addition to a desire to stay only in places where you feel safe, avoiding places similar to where you had your first crisis – since the brain associates places and situations with the trauma of the first crisis.
It is important to understand that the more we interpret normal life situations as dangerous, the more intense our physiological reactions will be.
Understand what Panic is , assuming the right attitude to deal with anxiety and crises. Recognize that Panic starts with a state of anxiety that leads to automatisms in the process of attention and thought.
Attention shifts uncontrollably, monitoring the body and the environment in search of something that could pose a danger.
The weakening of the capacity for voluntary control of attention is related to the difficulty in concentration often reported by those people who have difficulty feeling present and whole in the current moment.
2. Know the symptoms and how to treat panic disorder
Symptoms of Panic Syndrome usually happen suddenly and without warning, at any time of the day and also in any situation, such as while the person is driving, shopping at the mall, in the middle of a work meeting or even sleeping.
The DSM-V ( Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) states that the peak of panic attacks usually last about 10 to 20 minutes , but can vary depending on the person and the intensity of the attack. Also, some symptoms may continue for an hour or more.
It’s good to be aware that a panic attack can often be confused with a heart attack.
Panic attacks usually manifest the following symptoms:
- Sense of imminent danger;
- Fear of losing control;
- Fear of death or imminent tragedy;
- Feelings of indifference;
- Feeling out of reality;
- Numbness and tingling in the hands, feet or face;
- Palpitations, rapid heart rate and tachycardia;
- Sweating;
- Tremors;
- Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and suffocation;
- Hyperventilation;
- Feeling of needing to go to the bathroom;
- Chills;
- Heat waves;
- Nausea;
- Abdominal pain;
- Chest pain and discomfort;
- Headache;
- Dizziness;
- Difficulty holding the head;
- Fainting;
- Sensation of having the throat closing;
- Difficulty swallowing.
A frequent complication is the fear of fear, that is, the fear of having another panic attack. This fear can be so great that the person will often avoid to the extreme, situations in which these crises may reoccur.
In crises, physical sensations are interpreted as danger (dying of a heart attack, having a stroke, fainting, losing control, going crazy) and our body produces more adrenaline, which makes the symptoms even more accentuated to the point of causing panic .
The most frightening symptoms are palpitations (rapid heart), suffocation or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest, dizziness or feeling faint, blurred vision, feeling out of reality and not knowing where you are, strangeness in relation to itself, numbness or sensory anesthesia in parts of the body.
In addition to chills, hot flashes and dry mouth. That is, the same symptoms of anxiety, however, more intensely.
The crises will be more frequent if the first crisis was very traumatic, as that sensation is registered in our brain, in the emotional memory and each time we experience a similar situation or sensation, our brain associates what is happening with what has already happened, causing the person to produce more adrenaline by the simple catastrophic interpretation of a similar stimulus.
Although there are spontaneous crises, which appear suddenly, it is important to be aware of the moment and how they happen . Which situation triggered a crisis? Which thought tries to explain the situation?
There is no way to predict panic attacks. At least in the early stages of the disorder, there appears to be nothing specific capable of triggering the attack. But there are signs that remembering previous panic attacks can contribute and lead to a new crisis. The cause usually comes from chronic environmental stress.
Panic attacks can change behavior at home, at school or at work. People with the syndrome are often concerned about the effects of their panic attacks and it can even trigger more serious problems such as alcoholism, depression and drug abuse.
People who have some of the symptoms mentioned above need to seek help and put prejudice aside. Early treatment avoids consequences such as: leave, dismissal from work, early retirement due to functional incapacity, among other problems.
It is essential that the family is guided in this treatment process so that they understand the patient’s behavior.
Unfortunately, it is very common for family members to put pressure on the person to overcome the crisis and, at this moment, being very patient and supporting the treatment is essential.
3. Identify what generates anxiety
Anxiety is often a set of factors, but one must identify them and try to resolve them one by one. Situations that generate anxiety:
- Debt;
- Insecurity at work;
- A sick loved one;
- Marital crisis.
It is important to remember that the questionnaire result is not a psychological assessment. So, just for this result, it is not possible to diagnose a situation of anxiety and depression.
4. Contact and connection
Creating a sense of presence and strengthening attention is important in treatment.
Contact is an interaction of presence, which can be superficial, while connection is a deep connection that occurs even when people are far away.
The person with panic usually knows the feeling of “being absent”, disconnected, feeling distant even from those next to them. Develop bonds, support relationships network to reduce vulnerability and helplessness.
People with Panic suffer from a lack of basic connection, lack of connection and trust in bonds and lack of connection and trust in the body, which leads to an experience of insecurity, with feelings of fragility, vulnerability and helplessness.
5. Increase tolerance to internal excitement
A person with panic tends to interpret their body’s reactions, which are part of the anxious state, as if they were catastrophic signs, indicators of possible danger, such as fainting, an imminent heart attack , a sign of loss of control.
It is necessary to weaken this automatic association where the presence of some bodily sensations triggers an automatic anxiety reaction, and the process that leads to panic begins.
6. Learn relaxation techniques
As soon as an anxiety attack begins, it can gradually become more intense until it culminates in a new panic attack.
Relaxation techniques are capable of alleviating and even ending such crises if they are applied in the right way.
Consider learning a new relaxation method such as yoga, meditation, or mindfulness practice.
Develop emotional self-regulation skills through relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, meditation.
7. Combat the thoughts that lead to panic
Panic attacks are caused by excess anxiety, but panic syndrome is caused by catastrophic misinterpretations of the body’s natural reactions (fight or flight) so one of the most effective ways to beat panic disorder is to eliminate these thoughts. negative and catastrophic.
8. Use breathing as an ally
Knowing how to deal with crises is part of the treatment process. Breathing faster and more and more breathlessly causes the brain to send other commands to save the body from a possible attack, which triggers the physical symptoms.
To regain balance, we need to exhale very slowly, with our hands cupped between our nose and mouth – forming a kind of mask used to avoid contamination by the airways.
You can also breathe in a plastic bag. With this, the carbon dioxide that is missing is retained, making it impossible for new air to enter. Thus, we do not increase the oxygen that is already in excess and we avoid overloading.
Then, you stop breathing with the help of your hands or bag and start to breathe only slowly and deeply. Remembering that when we breathe slowly, the air comes out more slowly than when breathing in and, therefore, we retain a little carbon dioxide before releasing it, causing the Recovery System to be activated.
Therefore, it is necessary to learn to breathe correctly – in order not to get flustered and worsen the symptom – it is essential. When you feel the crisis starting, take a deep breath and hold the air in your lungs for 3 seconds. Then release slowly.
Repeat this exercise as many times as necessary and pay as much attention to your breathing as possible until you are able to calm down.
9. Elaborate other active psychological processes
It is important to identify the factors that were present when the Panic Syndrome started and that may have contributed to the outbreak of the attacks.
Understand and resolve the stressful factors that contributed to the emergence of crises (changes in life, losses, separations, professional problems , family conflicts, debts).
Knowing the personality type and origin, life history and education and understanding how this contributes to maintaining anxiety.
10. See a doctor to rule out health problems
Some thyroid problems and serious heart conditions can be similar to a panic attack. Consult a physician to rule out the possibility of any health problems.
Seek treatment for panic attacks as soon as possible.
11. Take care of your body
Take good care of your body and mind. Maintain a healthy diet, get enough rest, avoid drinks with high caffeine content, stay physically active, and engage in pleasurable activities often.
12. Seek a psychologist and undergo psychotherapy
When detecting the first crises and recognizing that something is not going well, look for a good professional! Counting on the help of a specialized person is the ideal way to start the treatment.
A good psychologist can help you discover the causes of the problem, work through your anxieties and alleviate the traumas , which can often cause panic. Therefore, do not underestimate the power of action of this professional.
A good approach for this type of situation is Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy . This type of Psychotherapy is essential to teach the brain and body to overcome attacks, in order to help you to end the problem once and for all.
The psychotherapy work will help the patient to identify the destructive symptoms at the time they are experiencing the crisis, helping to develop ways of letting go of that feeling, as well as space for the patient to talk about the suffering that the crises generate, questioning themselves about what happens to him, trying to make sense out of his story, which seems to have no meaning.
Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy teaches us that it is thoughts that generate emotions, not just the situation itself. And that emotions will affect our behaviors.
In anxiety and panic there are thought patterns: the world is seen as threatening, the person sees himself as vulnerable, and the future is seen as uncertain. If we don’t know what the future will be like, we run on the false positive (we believe in false alarms).
13. Make psychological care online
Important studies have demonstrated the efficiency of online psychological assistance in cases of Panic Syndrome.
Online psychology, also known as psychoteletherapy, is a growing field. Through this process, a psychologist performs the session over the internet via videoconference.
In Brazil, the Federal Council of Psychology, with a new resolution published in May 2018, releases online psychotherapy.
Results of online psychological care
The fact is that there are proven results of the benefits of online care , especially in cases of Panic Syndrome.
In cases where patients have a great fear of leaving their own home, care can start through a videoconference, until the patient starts to feel more secure and confident to perform daily activities and move to the office from your psychologist.
Online psychotherapy can also be useful for individuals who cannot leave the home, who have undergone a surgical procedure, who work unconventional hours, as well as those who are abroad or who live in rural or remote areas.
As for the cure, the results are very individualized. There are people who propose to treatment and learn about themselves, how they think and function, start to see themselves respecting their limits, signifying their anxiety and may never have a new crisis.
While others will have relapses at some point in their life, and still others who use medication for life.
14. Reflect on your lifestyle
If you’ve been working a lot and feel that your personal life has gotten out of hand, it’s time to review some attitudes and start putting your routine back on track. Panic syndrome is a recurrent fear of a situation that has caused trauma to a vulnerable individual.
Therefore, keep your life in balance, without overdoing work and always leaving space in your schedule for physical exercise or a session with the psychologist.
15. Be patient to treat panic disorder
To treat panic disorder, you need to be aware that it won’t go away overnight. Therefore, having the patience not to charge too much and face it one day at a time, always following the guidelines of your psychologist, are essential attitudes for the success of the treatment.
A panic disorder is curable and the most important thing is that there are qualified professionals to help you with this, and that some changes in habits can help a lot in time to face the crisis.
Always remember that you have been through crises before and successfully overcome them. This will happen in each of them until they cease to exist.