Anxiety and panic attacks are mental conditions that affect a surprisingly large proportion of people at various times. While these attacks can be very frightening as they are happening, they are usually fairly mild and don’t occur often. A panic attack differs from a panic disorder in that, as previously mentioned, a panic attack may happen infrequently, just a few times and although frightening, it will not usually be too debilitating in the longer term. Panic disorder on the other hand is much more debilitating as this describes a situation where you are constantly suffering from fear, anxiety and panic on a regular basis.
How do panic disorder symptoms differ from panic attacks then? The actual symptoms of panic attacks and panic disorders are fairly similar at first, although to add to the initial emotions of a panic attack, you will also experience an added cyclic effect of anxiety and worry in your panic disorder symptoms. The reason for this cyclic effect is that you are constantly anxious about the experience and thus simply waiting for the next attack to strike. While you are symptom free your fear and anxiety will still continue to build. So when eventually a panic attack does occur, the symptoms will be heightened because you will still have the other more intense and debilitating panic disorder symptoms to contend with as well.
Full blown panic disorder is a severe condition that must be treated quickly. Should this mental disorder be left untreated or perhaps be misdiagnosed then the sufferer will exist on a roller coaster of constant worry and anxiety. One of the escalated effects of untreated panic disorder, is Agoraphobia which is a condition where the victim becomes increasingly housebound because they’re afraid to risk exposing themselves to their panic disorder symptoms.
Panic disorders can show up at various life stages, even as early as our teenage years or early adulthood. Virtually any stressful and major life transitions can trigger panic disorder symptoms. Panic disorder can have mild effects on your life; but it can also lead to social impairment and even agoraphobia. Any phobias that develop as a result of panic disorder, manifest mainly due to the constant build up of anxiety caused by fear of triggering another panic disorder attack.
The symptoms of panic attacks are dizziness, light-headedness, chest pains, shortness of breath, rapidly beating heart, nausea, excessive sweating, stomach problems, shivers or chills, smothering feelings, mind paralyzing terror, shaking, trembling, a sense of unreality, a fear that you are losing your mind, fear of your imminent death, feeling that you can’t get any air, difficulty breathing, and possibly tingling in your fingers or toes.
The added panic disorder symptoms are an intense anxiety that another panic attack will occur, lingering worry, depression, risk of suicide and a severe restriction in your lifestyle. The restriction happens as you actively seek to avoid situations where panic disorder symptoms may become full blown and leave you terrified, vulnerable and exposed.
As you can see while both panic attack and panic disorder start out with the same symptoms, the overall effects that they have on you are different. As this mental condition can be very debilitating and is a very serious illness it is best to get help as soon as you can. Identifying panic disorder symptoms is the beginning of your cure and your will to find the right support to help you to fight back is another part of it. Speak with your doctor or a qualified mental health professional to help you to identify and access the best treatment and support mechanisms for you.