July 18, 2009
Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia
Panic Attacks are part of the group of anxiety conditions and are seldom understood. Many individuals do understand what constitutes a panic attack, many others do not know what can bring on these panic attacks. The connection between panic attacks happening and agoraphobia is interesting, agoraphobia can be one of the causes of the attacks.
Agoraphobia is also misunderstood, because so many individuals are not aware of this being part of the disorders that take place due to anxiety. Precisely this is a disorder that occurs when people have anxiety due to unfamiliar environments and situations. An example of this is an individual who is afraid of wide open areas or surroundings, that are not familiar with may have trouble adjusting to a rural setting. The numerous types of environments that an individual afflicted with agoraphobia can be afraid of can be endless. These surroundings may differ greatly but it can trigger the same reaction. The reaction being panic attacks.
As the name implies, a panic attack infers to a severe amount of anxiety overcoming an individual until the person begins to manifest severe mental and physical problems as a result. These attacks can be long or short in duration but they are always serious.
How does the panic attach develop in an agoraphobic situation? Basically, the fear of open spaces leads to a fight or flight response. For those not familiar with the term, this is a very base instinct found in all living creatures when they feel they are in danger. In short, they will seek to confront the danger or remove themselves from the situation. With agoraphobia, this problem is compounded by raw confusion.
A part of the frustration happens when a person is not able of leaving the setting they are in. The person could be at a social function with another individual can't leave or flee. It would not only be impolite, but also the other individual is the one that drove the person, that is in the middle of an agoraphobia episode, to the function. This problem will bring on a high level of stress, and also result in a severe panic attack.
How does a person handle a panic attack at an inconvenient moment? You should take several deep breaths, which will help you calm down, get your breathing under control, and your heart to slow and start beating normally again. This does help bring everything back under control. It only be a temporary fix, and the main problem still requires treatment to keep from having anymore episodes in the future.
Searching out medical treatment is the right way for reducing the effects of a panic attack, and its connection to the agoraphobia. A professional mental health therapist or doctor will give you a plan for treatment, to reduce the problems of these specific disorders. These types of disorders never go away without treatment.
Agoraphobia is a serious condition on its own and when it is combined with a panic attack. This is why the condition must be taken seriously. Once again, it cannot and will not go away on its own.
Filed under About Anxiety by Gordon Dalwood














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