Panic Attack Treatment.Anxiety and feelings of panic are common in older people, but these emotions can still be very difficult to manage, particularly given the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic. While it is important to be able to recognise the most common symptoms and talk about your concerns with family, friends or even a doctor.
What is anxiety and what causes it?
Anxiety involves worrying, often about non-specific things, and usually affects individuals in different ways. Essentially, it may last longer and occur more frequently for one person than it does for another.
Sometimes, worries may appear without any obvious trigger and are often centred around a variety of “what ifs?”, i.e. things that have not actually happened. These worries, and anxiety problems in general, often get worse in times of stress.
Anxiety can manifest itself in a variety of different ways from general anxiety disorder (GAD) to panic disorder to phobias to social anxiety and even to OCD.
What is a panic attack?
A panic attack is something that occurs in a discrete period of time where there is a sudden onset of intense overwhelming fear. This fear usually occurs in the absence of a real threat or danger, but there is often a sense that something awful is about to happen. There is then a desire to escape from the situation in which the panic attack is occurring.
Panic impairs thinking and usually involves a feeling of being out of control either physically, emotionally or both.
What are the symptoms of anxiety?
Anxiety and panic attacks can result in both physical and psychological symptoms.
Physical symptoms
A person may experience:
Tension
Shaking
Poor sleep, tiredness and fatigue
Digestive tract problems, such as feelings of nausea and IBS
Increased sweating
With more acute anxiety and panic, there will often be:
A sensation of breathlessness and chest tightness
A feeling that your heart is pounding harder or beating faster
Light-headedness or dizziness
Odd neurological sensations, such as tingling or numbness, in some parts of the body
Psychological symptoms
The most common symptoms include:
Feeling on edge
Experiencing difficulty in concentrating
Some people find that ongoing anxiety can make them irritable, and what the doctors call “an exaggerated startle response” (being jumpy) is not unusual.
For panic attacks, the principal psychological symptom is extreme fear. This may be very general, but often it will involve fear of a physical disaster, such as having a heart attack, becoming unable to breathe, or even dying.Panic Attack Treatment
Or it might be focused on something more psychological – a fear of losing control in some way, such as running away or doing something foolish in front of others. Often during a panic attack, the individual may experience a kind of dissociation, i.e. a sense that they have become disconnected from themselves or the world.
