The word "anxiety" is frequently tossed around. "Anxiety", after all is not a diagnosis, but a subjective feeling. It may even be something that is temporarily helpful, as in the case of having situational anxiety. Not all situational anxiety, of course is helpful, but at times it can be. For example anxiety before an exam in school helps us study harder and anxiety one week before April 15th ("Tax Day"), may help us get our taxes in order. Sometimes anxiety is helpful if it is contained, limited and resolves after the stressor (the exam or "tax day" in our examples) disappears.
Anxiety becomes more chronic, however, when it becomes a symptom of an underlying condition. These can include Panic Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and specific phobiad. You may have heard of some of these conditions from friends, or even in the press. You may even suspect that you have "an anxiety problem" which brought you to this website. As requested by our blogging community, in the next several blogs, we will review some of the more common anxiety disorders, their signs and symptoms, and the potential treatments available. Let us first start with Panic Disorder.
Panic Attacks: Panic Disorder consists of panic attacks. We have all heard this term before. Sometimes it is used too casually, as in referring to mild situational anxiety. So, what is a panic attack? The technical definition of a panic attack is "A discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four (or more) of the following symptoms develop abruptly and reach a peak within 10 minutes: 1. Palpitations (pounding or rapid heart rate), 2. Sweating, 3. Trembling or shaking, 4. Sensation of shortness of breath, 5. Feeling of choking, 6. Chest pain or discomfort, 7. Nausea and abdominal distress, 8. Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded or faint, 9. Derealization (feeling detatched from reality) or depersonalization (feeling detatched from oneself), 10. Fear of losing control or going crazy, 11. Fear of dying, 12. Paresthesia (numbness or tingling sensation), 13. Chills or hot flashes."
The symptoms of panic attacks are not identical amongst all people. Nevertheless, there are some common symptoms that tend to occur more often such as trembling and shaking, shortness of breath, dizziness, and palpitations (rapid, pounding heart). Some people can experience a feeling of an "impending sense of doom" i.e. like they are going to "die."
Panic Disorder. Although rare, it is possible to have a discreet panic attack, without having panic disorder. This can occur when, for example, a person witnesses a devastating event, such as a kidnapping or earthquake - in such cases, having a panic attack might be considered understandable. Panic Disorder, however, consists largely of recurrent, unexpected panic attacks or "spikes" in anxiety. This is accompanied by at least one month or more of persistent concern about having another attack, and is often accompanied by worry about the implication of having an attack or of significant behavioral change related to the attack. It is important to realize that in panic disorder attacks are "unexpected" - meaning that the attack is not a logical conclusion to a stressful event
