Panic Disorder: Anxiety Panic Attack Symptom - Nocturnal Panic Attack And The Dangers of a Panic Attack While Driving

Panic disorder is a real illness that can be successfully treated. It is characterized by sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness, weakness, faintness, or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience nausea, chest pain, or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control.

A fear of one's own unexplained physical symptoms is also a symptom of panic disorder. People having panic attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks, losing their minds, or on the verge of death. They can't predict when or where an attack will occur, and between episodes many worry intensely and dread the next attack.

Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack usually peaks within 10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer. Panic disorder affects about 6 million American adults and is twice as common in women as men.2 Panic attacks often begin in late adolescence or early adulthood,2 but not everyone who experiences panic attacks will develop panic disorder. Many people have just one attack and never have another. The tendency to develop panic attacks appears to be inherited.


Some people's lives become so restricted that they avoid normal activities, such as grocery shopping or driving. About one-third become housebound or are able to confront a feared situation only when accompanied by a spouse or other trusted person. When the condition progresses this far, it is called agoraphobia, or fear of open spaces.

Early treatment can often prevent agoraphobia, but people with panic disorder may sometimes go from doctor to doctor for years and visit the emergency room repeatedly before someone correctly diagnoses their condition. This is unfortunate, because panic disorder is one of the most treatable of all the anxiety disorders, responding in most cases to certain kinds of medication or certain kinds of cognitive psychotherapy, which help change thinking patterns that lead to fear and anxiety.

Panic disorder is often accompanied by other serious problems, such as depression, drug abuse, or alcoholism. These conditions need to be treated separately. Symptoms of depression include feelings of sadness or hopelessness, changes in appetite or sleep patterns, low energy, and difficulty concentrating. Most people with depression can be effectively treated with antidepressant medications, certain types of psychotherapy, or a combination of the two.

People who have full-blown, repeated panic attacks can become very disabled by their condition and should seek treatment before they start to avoid places or situations where panic attacks have occurred. For example, if a panic attack happened in an elevator, someone with panic disorder may develop a fear of elevators that could affect the choice of a job or an apartment, and restrict where that person can seek medical attention or enjoy entertainment.

What is an anxiety panic attack symptom?

Panic attacks affect many people around the world and anxiety is a very common part of life for many. An anxiety panic attack symptom is unfortunately quite a normal part of life for some people in today's stressful and busy world. Do you have panic attacks? Are you prone to anxiety or panic disorders? Can you recognize an anxiety panic attack symptom? In this brief article, I will outline some of those symptoms and also explore what a panic attack is and what causes it.

Many sources suggest that one out of every three Americans suffers from some sort of panic or anxiety disorder in some capacity. This number is steadily rising as the demands of life in this global economy become even more strenuous and harmful. Panic attacks are known as sudden surges of overwhelming emotions such as fear or heavy stress that comes without warning. These attacks affect an estimated 75 million people yearly worldwide.

Symptoms

An anxiety panic attack symptom can vary and can be very dangerous in and of itself. Not only are the symptoms harmful, but the outcome of having a full-on panic attack can be deadly. Talk to your medical professional about how to get help in dealing with your symptoms and your problem. It may involve therapy or medication or any combination of the two.

Some symptoms of a panic attack include a raging heartbeat, hot flashes or chills, choking, chest pains, sweating, trembling, shaking, difficulty breathing, sudden overwhelming fear, fear of sudden death or injury for no reason, anxiousness, fearfulness, general feelings of dread, dizziness, light-headedness, and any number of other similar symptoms.

Now, panic is known to bring about the fastest changes to the makeup of the human body of most afflictions. This is because a panic attack is so sudden and overtakes so many of the bodily systems that the body is often overwhelmed from the attack and may in fact just shut down. Panic attacks generally are masked as some other types of medical problems and this causes doctors and other medical professionals to be often unprepared and ill-equipped to properly diagnose chronic anxiety and panic attacks.

Seek Professional Help

An anxiety panic attack symptom, as discussed above, can vary and generally represents a variety of other afflictions. It is for this reason that it may be important to gather a variety of opinions on your health if you think you have or are experiencing frequent panic attacks. Many medical professionals incorrectly diagnose the panic attack as merely the symptom or the surface problem. It might take several visits to a physician to properly diagnose an anxiety or panic attack as a chronic problem.


Dealing with a Nocturnal Panic Attack




Fortunately after the first attack and the awareness that usually occurs, most nocturnal panic attack sufferers can begin to find their options. A nocturnal panic attack tends to be triggered during certain events, or after certain actions. For some this can be after eating disagreeable foods, or an attack might occur if a particularly stressful event happened before sleeping. In most cases the reasons behind these attacks can be distinguished and the panic sufferer can begin to build towards a solution.

Prevention Works

As with any other type of attack, the best thing for a nocturnal panic attack is prevention. Anyone who experiences frequent nocturnal panic attack episodes should begin to question their nightly regiment before they go to bed. Ideally a person who experiences frequent nightly attacks should make it their goal to reduce the common causes of panic attacks. Unfortunately, when it comes to panic attacks, almost anything can be the trigger.

This can mean all sorts of changes for a person. Cutting out the nightly snacks, and eating earlier in the evening always helps. Reducing any stress occurred during the evening hours is always very helpful. Try not to discuss any important issues before bed; this can lead to unwanted stress before sleep, which could be causing the panic. If possible try to exercise before bed, or at least sometime in the evening; even a short walk can be helpful.

If the problem still persists, or just seems too frequent to be caused by just these issues, then it would definitely be wise to consult a doctor. If you are a frequent panic attack sufferer then you probably already have a normal physician. Consult your doctor, an imbalance could be occurring that is causing these nocturnal panic attack episodes. If you are taking medication for your panic attacks already then it may be time to switch medications. Again consult your doctor, but in some cases certain medications have been known to increase a nocturnal panic attack while reducing daily ones. 

A Nocturnal panic attack tends to be one of the most frightening panic attacks a person can have. They interrupt sleep, and most of the time the panic sufferer wakes up mid-attack. Anyone who has ever experienced a nocturnal panic attack can vouch for how frightening the first time can be, and the confusion they experienced. It may very well be the worst type of panic attack someone can have.

The Dangers of a Panic Attack While Driving

There is often a direct correlation between driving and panic attacks, actually. Busy roads, crazy intersections, impatient motorists and multiple other factors all contribute to the stress of driving to and from our destinations on a daily basis. The roads have almost become war zones as we travel from place to place, always in a hurry and always wanting to be the "first" to arrive at our place of work or at home.

Effects of an Attack While Driving


A panic attack while driving can cause the most sudden of emotional and physical effects on the human body possible. The danger of this is obvious and the cause is generally controllable. A panic attack, in fact, causes the most complex and fast reaction known in the human body. This is because it affects so many organisms and bodily systems in so many different ways at such a great rate of speed that it is completely unpredictable.

Panic attacks affect the operation of the eyes, motor skills, major gland functions, brain functions, heart functions, lung functions, and many more systematic functions throughout the human body. The metabolism of the body is increased and several blood sugars flood the vital organs causing, quite literally, a massive panic on the body's organs. Once sugars and excessive fatty acids are released into the bloodstream, they are carried throughout the body to attempt to "cope" with the stressors or causes of your panic attack, often with disastrous results.

Panic attack symptoms are, in fact, twice as likely to appear in women as they are in men. They almost always begin in adolescence and continue into adulthood. If you are prone to panic attacks while young, you will almost always be prone to them throughout your life.

Having a panic attack while driving, therefore, is a dangerous but often inevitable possibility because of the "built-in" stress of driving and of the roads today. 

Having a panic attack while driving can make you a danger to yourself and other motorists on the road, but knowing how to recognize an impending panic attack while driving can help prevent disaster. There have been stories of people falling asleep at the wheel, of road rage incidents, and of other behavioural problems behind the wheel of our automobiles for a long time now. Every story is usually about someone "losing control", and a panic attack is all about loss of control in the face of stress.

References:
Panic Away - End Anxiety & Panic Attacks. Well-being And Self Help
https://plus.google.com/109078989589063801288/posts/35Vv8sW6Buv

Driving Fear Program
https://plus.google.com/109078989589063801288/posts/DoUNFuxup1v

Panic Miracle (tm): Top Panic Attacks & Anxiety
https://plus.google.com/109078989589063801288/posts/FyfxxgTU5w3

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the World's No.1 Treatment for Anxiety & Panic
https://plus.google.com/109078989589063801288/posts/2DfrcrwXDX2

The Paruresis Treatment System - Resources and Help for Shy Bladder
https://plus.google.com/109078989589063801288/posts/N9dkFZeyuwH

The Panic Hack
https://plus.google.com/109078989589063801288/posts/gCo627UVgZG