Panic Disorder
March 10th, 2010
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by Karen Gosling · Filed Under: How Emotional Stuff Works · Karen Gosling
| A Learning Opportunity: Welcome to “How Emotional Stuff Works”. In this series of Q&A Karen Gosling expands upon questions that simply seek information and those that may trouble you. This is an important call-to-action for people wanting to stay well and have healthy relationships, and the answers are relevant no matter where you live in the world.
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Q I am suffering from panic attacks. They started two years ago and I felt I was going crazy. I’ve tried seeing a few doctors but still the sensation of fear came when I stopped medication. I am sick and tired of taking medicine because I plan to have a baby soon. Please help.
A Panic attacks can be brought on by anxious thought, but often have no identifiable cause. You experience in your body an overwhelming sense of fear. Symptoms include dizziness, sweating, shaking, and shortness of breath. You feel completely disorientated,with heart racing, and may experience nausea.
A ‘panic attack’ will often occur out of the blue. You may wake in the middle of the night thinking you are going to die or be separated from loved ones. You may be overcome with fear that you are going to lose control of your car or fail in an important presentation and lose your job.
It is important to understand that a feeling of panic is your body’s physiological response to a negative thought, memory, or unmet expectation. For example, you may become immobilized when you first see a snake because of your thought that snakes are dangerous and can kill people. Your body secretes a good dose of adrenalin to prime you to escape and you begin to quiver and shake. Then you begin to think ‘what if’ – “What if I can’t get away? What if no will help me? What if I die, who will look after my children?” These ‘what if’s’ add more adrenalin into your body decreasing your body’s ability to cope.
If you experience ‘panic attacks’ often, you may develop avoidance behaviors – you may avoid going out, driving or being in a lift alone or flying in a plane. You may be at risk of becoming depressed or dependent on alcohol and drugs to lower your anxiety level.
A person suffers a panic disorder if there are frequent feelings of panic or fear. There may or may not be recurring panic attacks.
Cognitive-behavioral counseling is an effective means of addressing panic disorder. Equipped with a sound understanding of how you process emotion and cognitive strategies to use when a ‘panic attack’ occurs, you will be well on the way to dealing effectively with this unwanted and frightening disorder.
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