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Panic Disorder And Panic Attacks
Panic disorder is considered to be an illness. Symptoms include feeling suddenly terrorized, feeling faint, pain in the chest or feeling smothered. Panic attacks fall under the panic disorder condition and are prone to some of these same symptoms, plus others. When someone is having a panic attack, there are thoughts that are unrealistic or they fear that they are no longer in control or a situation.
With panic disorder, a person can also experience depression, or substance abuse. If these conditions are attached to their panic disorder, they should not be treated together. Sometimes they will feel sad or won't want to eat. They may not be able to sleep or only sleep for a few hours. They don't have much energy to do anything and they cannot maintain focus.
Panic Attack
A panic attack is when a person has a fear or apprehension that is sudden or intense. There is usually nothing wrong and no one is in danger. Panic attacks can happen suddenly, last for a few minutes, and then it's over. There are others that last longer than a few minutes or there may be more than one and they follow behind one another.
There are three types of panic attacks:
Spontaneous –these panic attacks occur with no warning. There is nothing that could possibly bring it on. Even if a person is sleeping, they can still experience a panic attack.
Situationally bound – these panic attacks happen when there is a situation to which a person has been or will be exposed to. They are consider to trigger or provoke the panic attack. For instance, if a person hears a car backfire, it co