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Panic Attack and Panic Disorder: Everything You Need to Know

What is a panic attack? How can you identify one? Is there a cure? Find all the answers in this in-depth guide on panic attacks and how to deal with them.

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  • Have you ever felt like your heart is pounding in your chest, you can’t breathe, and you’re going to die?
  • Well, that’s what a panic attack feels like. And that’s not even half of it. If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you know how scary it can be.
  • For a few moments, you lose all control and all rational thought flies out the window. Even though your brain knows you’re not in danger, you just can’t stop panicking.
  • But what can you do when you have a panic attack? What causes a panic attack and is there a cure?
  • Don’t worry, you’ll find all the answers you need in this in-depth guide. This will help you take control of the situation and calm yourself down when you experience a panic attack the next time.
  • But first, let’s understand in depth what a panic attack is and how it feels.

What is a Panic Attack?

  • In scientific terms, a panic attack is an instance of severe, intense anxiety that typically lasts a few minutes.
  • You probably know it as an unexplained feeling of intense fear that causes physical symptoms, such as a racing heart and rapid breathing.
  • There may not be any external stimuli or a cause for this sudden feeling of fear. In fact, in most cases, the triggers are hardly physical threats, but emotional stressors.
  • And though these feelings last just a few minutes, they may have a lasting emotional impact. Of course, if you’ve ever had a panic attack, you know that the fear and anxiety don’t really go away even after it’s over.
  • Does this mean that this is a lifelong condition that you have to live with?
  • Not necessarily. You may have a few panic attacks in your lifetime, but not necessarily a panic disorder, which is a lifelong condition.
  • Even if you do have a panic disorder, it can be managed with proper care and treatment. So, don’t worry.
  • Whether you have one-off panic attacks or a Panic Disorder, you can get all the support you need. Our anxiety checklist, for example, provides you with amazing tools to calm your mind and manage your anxiety to reduce the likelihood of panic attacks.

As you read further, you will find useful information on how to identify and manage panic attacks. But first, let’s learn about the difference between a panic attack & a Panic Disorder in the next section.

Panic Attack vs Panic Disorder

  • People who suffer from frequent panic attacks may develop a condition called Panic Disorder.
  • The key difference is that a panic attack could be a one-time occurrence while a Panic Disorder is a recurring, long-term medical condition.
  • So, if you’re freaking out after having your first panic attack, don’t worry. It was likely a one-off occurrence. But if you have frequent attacks, then you need to consult a doctor.
  • But first, let’s discuss how you can identify if what you’ve experienced was indeed a panic attack.

Symptoms of a Panic Attack: How to Identify One

  • When you're having a panic attack, you may not even know what it is. To some people, it feels like having a heart attack.
  • If you don't know the difference, you may end up panicking even more, which will worsen the symptoms.
  • That's why it's important to understand and learn to identify the symptoms of a panic attack.
  • For instance, if your grandparents struggled with anxiety, it might increase the likelihood of you facing similar challenges. Alternatively, if you endured abuse during childhood, the stress you faced might have become ingrained within you. This lingering stress could contribute to the anxiety you face as an adult.
  • Our personality traits also have a huge role to play. Consider perfectionists—they're always aiming for high standards. But this continuous pursuit can cultivate an unwavering fear of not measuring up.
  • Understanding these triggers is a personal journey. It's about recognizing why you feel the way you do. This awareness allows you to be more empathetic toward yourself as you navigate through these challenges.

Here's a comprehensive list

  • Rapid breathing and racing heartbeats
  • An overwhelming sense of fear
  • Sweating or hot flushes
  • Chills or trembling
  • Weakness or dizziness
  • Numbness or tingly sensations in hands and fingers
  • A feeling of nausea or abdominal distress
  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Chest pain or constriction (in some cases)
  • A feeling of intense anxiety
  • A sense of losing control
  • A choking sensation

How to Identify a Panic Attack

  • Given that the symptoms of a panic attack are very similar to those of other health conditions, such as an anxiety disorder it can be difficult to identify it at the moment when you’re having one.
  • The key characteristic of a panic attack is intense fear and crippling anxiety. If you don’t feel that overwhelming sense of fear and only have physical symptoms, chances are that you may not be having a panic attack.
  • This shows why it's really important to figure out what's going on and get the right treatment.

Fear of the Fear: The Panic Cycle

  • Before we move to the causes and treatment options, you must understand the vicious panic cycle.
  • Some people develop a fear of having another panic attack after they’ve experienced one. They start avoiding certain people, places, or situations that may trigger a panic attack. If you’ve ever done that, you know how disabling it can be.
  • It can work like a self-fulfilling prophecy—the fear of having a panic attack may cause one.

Why is this important?

  • When you understand how the cycle works, you're in a better position to break it and get out of the loop. That's why you need to learn to identify not just the symptoms but the process of how your brain works.
  • And if you need help breaking the cycle, our anxiety checklist provides all the tools and techniques you need. You can use it to learn calming and grounding techniques to break the cycle and get out of the loop before your anxiety turns into a panic attack.

What Causes a Panic Attack?

  • There is no conclusive study that confirms exactly what causes a panic attack. However, there are several factors that are known to contribute to a person’s likelihood of having panic attacks.
  • For instance, if your grandparents struggled with anxiety, it might increase the likelihood of you facing similar challenges. Alternatively, if you endured abuse during childhood, the stress you faced might have become ingrained within you. This lingering stress could contribute to the anxiety you face as an adult.
  • Our personality traits also have a huge role to play. Consider perfectionists—they're always aiming for high standards. But this continuous pursuit can cultivate an unwavering fear of not measuring up.
  • Understanding these triggers is a personal journey. It's about recognizing why you feel the way you do. This awareness allows you to be more empathetic toward yourself as you navigate through these challenges.

Family History

  • Genetics and family history are often the top contributing factors for panic attacks and panic disorders, according to anxiety statistics.
  • Panic disorders often run in families and if you have a direct relative (parents, siblings, etc.) who has this condition, then you may be prone to it as well.
  • Does this mean you will necessarily have a panic disorder if you have a family history of it?
Absolutely not.
  • There is no conclusive study to prove that, nor is there a direct correlation, it's just one factor that may have an effect on your likelihood of developing a panic disorder.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

  • These are negative or even traumatic experiences that occur during childhood (1-17 years of age) that leave a lasting emotional impact.
  • Abuse, parental neglect, and parental substance use are among the top causes of such experiences. Check out the image below to learn some other causes of adverse childhood experiences.
  • If, as a child, you’ve grown up in a negative environment, you may develop conditions like depression or anxiety, which may lead to panic attacks.
  • Depending on your specific trauma or experience, you may develop different triggers that cause panic attacks.
  • For example, someone who was punished as a child by being locked in a room may develop an intense fear of being in tight spaces. Their panic attacks may be triggered in closed quarters or places where they feel claustrophobic.
  • There can be any number of triggers for panic attacks, depending on your past trauma. Learn to identify your triggers to better understand and manage your panic disorder.

Chronic Stress

  • People who have been stressed for a long period are likely to develop a variety of physical and mental health problems, and panic attacks are one of them.
  • Chronic stress causes your body to release hormones like adrenaline that can trigger the fight-or-flight response, even when there is no real physical threat.
  • The image below shows how stress, irrespective of the cause, can trigger a hyperventilation cycle, which can cause panic attacks.

Sudden Acute Stress

  • A sudden stressful or traumatic event can also flood your body with certain chemicals that may trigger the fight-or-flight response.
  • This can cause panic attacks as the body may be reacting to a perceived threat that may not even exist. In such cases, the survival instinct kicks in and the body is not able to differentiate between an actual threat and a perceived one.

Chronic Health Conditions

  • People with chronic physical or mental health conditions are often prone to panic attacks.
  • Living with a life-threatening or disabling disease can cause anxiety, which can develop into a panic disorder over time.
  • People with mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, can also get panic attacks under stressful circumstances.

Current Life Circumstances

  • Stressors in your current living situation can also cause panic attacks. If you face one or more of the common stressors listed below.

You may be prone to having a panic attack

  • Constant pressure at work or school
  • Unemployment or money problems
  • Constant uncertainty about life situations
  • Feelings of loneliness or isolation
  • Negative experiences, such as abuse or discrimination
  • Loss of a friend or family member

Drug and Medication

  • Certain drugs or medicines can also have side effects that may cause panic attacks. Some common risk factors include alcohol, caffeine, and tranquilizers.
  • Please remember that any of these in moderation is not dangerous and will not cause panic attacks. But prolonged, excessive use may cause physical and mental health problems including Panic Disorder, among other things.

Complications Caused by Panic Attacks

  • One-off instances of panic attacks only cause temporary distress but don’t have lasting health consequences. But if Panic Disorder is left untreated, it may do some serious damage to your health.

Here are some complications that may cause

  • Increased risk of suicide and frequent suicidal thoughts
  • Development of various phobias
  • Irrational behavior as a response to constant anxiety and fear
  • Social anxiety or hesitance to go out and meet people
  • Other mental health or psychiatric disorders
  • Alcoholism or substance abuse problems
  • Inability to keep a regular job

Prevention Measures: How to Reduce the Frequency and Likelihood of Panic Attacks

  • Let's be clear on one thing—there are no guaranteed prevention measures to avoid a panic attack. However, with a healthy lifestyle  and proper treatment, you can effectively manage it.
  • Over the past few decades, researchers have made significant strides in treating mental health conditions.
  • Treatment usually boils down to two main options: talking therapy and medications. Some people find a mix of both works best, while others get relief with just one of them. It's all about finding what suits you best.

Exercise Regularly

  • Daily exercise has a plethora of physical and mental health benefits as it releases certain neurochemicals that have positive health effects.

Learn Grounding Techniques

  • Grounding exercises and meditation help people with anxiety focus on the physical environment around them and stay grounded in reality. This helps stop your brain from obsessing over made-up threatening scenarios that cause a panic attack.

Try Breathing Exercises

  • Choose from among various available options and practice breathing exercises regularly. This will help you learn to relax and focus your attention on your breath rather than negative thought loops.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

  • Have a well-balanced, healthy diet and reduce your intake of caffeine, alcohol, or other addictive substances.

Talk to Someone You Trust

  • Talking to a trusted friend or loved one about your worries can help alleviate some of your concerns. It provides you an outlet to share your thoughts instead of letting them play obsessively in your mind.

Maintain a Diary

  • Every time you have a panic attack write about your experience. This will help you identify your triggers and understand what typically causes your attacks, so you can be in more control of the situation in the future.

Seek Treatment

  • Despite all the prevention measures, if you still get a panic attack, seek immediate help. A professional will put you on a treatment plan to reduce the frequency of attacks and ensure the situation doesn't get worse.

Our 93-point anxiety checklist  covers a lot of techniques you can use to calm your mind when you have a panic attack. It has several tools to manage anxiety  and self-care tips to take better control of the situation.

  • Using a mix of these preventative measures will help you better manage your panic attacks. But you must remember that it may take a long while for your condition to get better as lifestyle changes take time to make an impact.

Diagnosis and Tests

  • Go to your healthcare provider and provide them with your medical history and the extensive list of symptoms you experience.
  • Based on that, they’ll be able to diagnose whether you have panic attacks, a panic disorder, or some other medical condition with similar symptoms.

To get further insights into your health, your healthcare provider may request

  • Various blood tests, to rule out underlying conditions like Diabetes and Hyperthyroidism
  • A complete and extensive physical examination
  • A complete psychological assessment of your anxieties and fears, and the various stressors in your life
  • Once you have a clear diagnosis, your healthcare provider can then formulate an effective treatment plan that’s unique to your needs.

How is a Panic Disorder Diagnosed

  • As explained earlier, not everyone who suffers from panic attacks has a panic disorder. To diagnose one, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has laid down specific rules.

Here’s the gist: you may have a panic disorder if

  • You suffer from frequent panic attacks
  • After an attack, you continually worry about having another attack or what it may mean for your health
  • There are no underlying health conditions or substance abuse problems that are causing your panic attacks
  • If all three criteria are met, then you may have a panic disorder and must seek immediate treatment.

When to Consider Professional Advice

  • Ideally, you should seek immediate help after you’ve had a panic attack because you can’t be sure if you had a panic attack or some other health problem.
  • This is especially important if you have physical symptoms, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, etc. These symptoms could be due to other health conditions and getting an early diagnosis can help you take better control of the situation.
  • If you are sure that you suffer from panic attacks and are actively taking self-help measures or are even on a treatment, you should visit your healthcare provider if intense physical symptoms occur.

If your symptoms are more psychological than physical, you should seek treatment if:

  • You live in constant fear
  • Your anxiety is disrupting your daily life
  • You're extremely irritable
  • You can't seem to concentrate on anything
  • Your panic attacks last longer than 15 minutes
  • You consistently have trouble sleeping
  • If you’re hesitant to go to a doctor because you want to manage the situation through self-help, not medication, it’s understandable. We’re all for it. In fact, we’ve created an extensive guide to help you take care of your health with self-care tips for managing anxiety and panic attacks.
  • But you have to understand that your healthcare provider is in a better position to guide you on which techniques will work best for you.
  • So, seeking advice early will help you avoid things from getting worse and give you all the necessary information you need to manage your situation.

Medical Treatment Options

Here are some of the treatment options for panic attacks

Psychotherapy

  • This includes talking therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Hypnotherapy that help you understand your symptoms and triggers. It helps you understand that there's no real threat and you can consciously relax your mind when having a panic attack. The image below lists some common types of psychotherapy.

Medications

  • Depending on the severity of your condition, you may be put on various medications. These include antidepressants like Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and anti-anxiety medications like alprazolam and lorazepam.
  • If you can’t afford therapy or want to use self-help options, you can still find affordable or free online CBT programs and apps.

Where to Get Help

If your symptoms are more psychological than physical, you should seek treatment if:

  • Your regular doctor or healthcare provider
  • A psychologist
  • By searching for specialized treatments near you on the FindTreatment.gov website if you're based in the US
  • Depending on your location, you may also find local or federal helplines for anxiety, panic attacks, and other mental health problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

A panic attack is characterized by an overwhelming sense of fear and intense anxiety. It can also involve physical symptoms, such as rapid breathing, heart palpitations, numbness or tingling sensation in hands or fingers, etc.

If you are experiencing a panic attack one of the things you can do is take long breaths and focus your mind on feeling the inhale and exhale. By bringing your attention to something other than your feelings of worry, you can calm yourself down.

The most important thing is to stay calm and let them know you're there for them, in whatever capacity they need you. Talk to them and let them know that they might be having a panic attack and that it won't last long.

If they're receptive to it, help them with a breathing exercise or a grounding exercise, but don't force your advice if they're not receptive. Just be there for them and let it pass.

It is a grounding technique that requires you to focus on 3 things you see, 3 things you hear, and 3 body parts you can move when having a panic attack. The goal is to divert attention away from anxious thoughts to the physical environment around you.

Absolutely! It takes time and an effective treatment plan under the care of a medical professional.

Conclusion

  • Dealing with anxiety and panic disorder is tough and while medication helps manage the symptoms, lifestyle changes are often required to make long-term improvements.
  • To make your life easier, we've done all the research and prepared an anxiety checklist with strategies to help you manage your anxiety. You will also learn what to do in case you have a panic attack and ways to take more control of the situation.
  • Don't worry, this is not a one-time download. You will get lifetime access to any updates we make to this checklist, including new research and innovative techniques. So, download the checklist, and don't let anxiety take over your life. Good luck!

If you are in a crisis or any other person may be in danger - don't use this site. These resources can provide you with immediate help.