Have you ever felt like your heart was pounding, you were seating and you suddenly felt a huge panic overcome you to the extent that you thought you were going to die?

This is how it can feel if you are experiencing a panic attack.

Panic Attack Symptoms

Symptoms of panic attacks can vary from person to person and some people will experience symptoms more severe than other people. Here are some of the symptoms that might occur if you are suffering from an attack.

• Racing heart
• Chest pain
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Feeling of dread
• Tingling or cold hands and feet
• Overwhelming feeling of anxiety
• Shivering or trembling
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling faint
• Upset stomach

During a panic attack you might suffer from just one or two of these symptoms or you may suffer from quite a few. Regardless of how many symptoms you have or the severity of them, one thing is the same for everyone, the feeling is incredibly scary.

Panic Attack Triggers

There might be just one trigger that can set off an attack in a person, or for some people there can be multiple triggers. In fact, for some people, they just can’t identify any particular trigger but rather can have an attack at any time and in any place.

If you are a person that can pinpoint a specific trigger that sets off an attack then you have the advantage of being able to work around that trigger to try and stop the reaction you are having. Some triggers might be possible to avoid completely, while others you just can’t avoid at all and with these you might need to undergo some cognitive behaviour therapy to learn how to change your reaction to that trigger.

It is your strong emotions that are overreacting that is causing the reaction you are having and the good news is that you can learn to change those emotions to your favour.

Panic Attack Treatment

There are different treatments available to help with panic attacks, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, medication or even natural therapies.

Medication however will only help with the symptoms and not the underlying issue, so I would recommend that if you decide to take medication for your panic attacks that you do it in combination with some therapy. If you can learn to change the way you think and change the way your body reacts to some situations, then you should be able to reduce and stop your medication and be free from panic attacks.