| Saturday, June 21, 2008 |
| Do You Know What Causes a Panic Disorder? |
When someone notices a baby about to fall out of his or her highchair, panic sets in, encouraging immediate action. Driving in a blizzard, being pushed through a crowd in Times Square, standing atop the Empire State Building, walking into a funeral home or finding out a loved one has been cheating are all cases that may create panic or anxiety in any person. However, for some, the fear of panic becomes so great and symptoms so strong that they begin to alter their behavioral patterns to avoid anxiety. Of the 2 to 6 million Americans who suffer from panic anxiety, it is estimated that about 5% have a full blown panic disorder.
So what causes a person's first panic attack, which could later lead to the full scale panic disorder? Researchers have found a few clues regarding what may trigger this seemingly sudden and inexplicable feeling of terror and worry. Some scientists purport that most patients are under a lot of stress and one final and almost insignificant thing sets a person off.
Other scientists believe that some people are naturally predisposed to hereditary panic attacks. Yet a third school of thought says that panic attack disorder sets off when one's "fight or flight" response gets triggered by false alarms, which become learned alarms over time, evoking future panic attacks.
There are several other intriguing statistics to consider. First, women are twice as likely to develop panic attack anxiety as men. Two additional studies found that identical twins are more likely to both suffer from panic attack disorder, whereas fraternal twins are not.
These studies suggest that there may, in fact, be biological ties to panic, although the genetic markers have yet to be identified. Whether it's a cause or effect is not clear, but 50 to 60% of those who suffer from panic attacks also suffer from depression; 45% of panic attack patients were victims of sexual abuse; 35% of sufferers have alcohol or substance abuse problems; and 26% of patients have incapacitating agoraphobia, which is a fear of public places.
To stop anxiety, doctors usually prescribe fast-acting antidepressants or sedatives during the initial phase of treatment. However, there is always a worry or concern that people may become addicted to the panic attack medication when used as a quick fix. A much more long-term panic disorder treatment plan is to attend cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy sessions, which usually show improvement within 8 to 10 weeks. Without treatment, the panic attacks can be quite debilitating for the sufferer. |
| posted by Healthy Life @ 10:10 AM |
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