Causes Of Panic Disorder

The experience of a panic attack can be very scary, many people think that they are suffering a heart attack as the symptoms can be similar. The most common physical signs of a panic attack are shortness of breath, racing heartbeat, feeling of dizziness and sweating.

Some people will only experience one or two panic attacks, however, for other sufferers the attacks can be frequent and hence debilitating. Sometimes the fear of having a panic attacks can be enough to induce an attack, this is a vicious circle and without treatment will probably get worse.

Once the illness has developed to this point it is essential to try to understand the causes of panic disorder. Once the causes of panic disorder have been determined it will be possible to either treat or avoid these, and hence to start the process of controlling this illness.

Trying to establish the causes of panic disorder requires and in-depth look and the both the symptoms and the circumstances of the panic attacks. Every sufferer of panic attacks will need to work out their own causes of panic disorder as they are different for everyone.

Some people will appear to suffer panic attacks ramdomly, while others may always be in a similar situation or place, some patient will even suffer panic attacks during the night. This range of environments demonstrates how important it is for each and every sufferer to take the time to work out their personal causes of panic disorder.

If you are suffering panic attacks with sufficient frequency to become classified as a panic disorder it is essential that you visit your doctor to discuss treatment options.

The treatment may vary depending on the causes of you panic disorder. In some instances the initial treatment will be based on determining these causes, after which the best type of treatment can be decided. The usual treatments are cognitive behavioral therapy, medication or a combination of the two. Pinpointing the causes of panic attacks could result in a more effective treatment.

Sometimes a panic disorder will be related to a specific event or stressful/traumatic experience. In these instances the emotions connected with the experience need to be resolved in order to avoid future panic attacks. Equally if the panic attacks have grown and increased over a period of time it is possible that there are such high levels of stress and anxiety that the simpliest of things can induce a panic attack.

For these patients it is important to review their attitude to life and to reevaluate what is important to them. This can result in long term changes which will improve many other aspects of their lives as well as controlling the panic attacks.

Sometimes it seems that panic disorders are hereditary. There has been much research into this, and the current thinking is that it is more nurture than nature. By this I mean that we learn from our parents how to cope with situations, and there are stresses and anxieties within a family unit, these can be transferred between the family members.

Even when a parent trys to protect their child from certain emotions, they may be limiting their childs capacity to deal with these emotions later in life. There are no simple solutions when looking at causes of panic disorder within families, each family is different.

Whatever you situation and belief about panic attacks, there is one thing for certain, panic attacks are unlikely to ‘just go away’. Treatment is important if you are to keep your life on track. Take back control.