A racing heart, ragged breathing and an overpowering feeling of fear. If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack, you know this feeling all too well. And if you’ve ever experienced it, you know one thing for sure: once and never again. But how do you prevent a panic attack and what is the role of stress in it? Women’s Health spoke to a psychiatrist to find out.
What is a panic attack?
‘A panic attack is the most intense and serious experience of fear,’ says psychiatrist at the AMC, Nienke Vulink. ‘You can experience a whole range of physical symptoms as an expression of that fear. Think of palpitations, sweating, trembling, tingling or chest pain. These are very serious physical complaints and people often have the idea that they are going to die or go completely crazy. It’s a horrible thing to experience.’
Want to know more about the complaints? These are all symptoms that can arise from a panic attack.
Hyperventilation in panic attack
‘During a panic attack, your breathing can also speed up,’ says Vulink. ‘Hyperventilation can therefore be part of a panic attack. But not every form of hyperventilation is a symptom of a panic attack.’ For example, stress alone can cause hyperventilation, without this resulting in a full-blown panic attack. According to Vulink, good diagnostics are therefore essential.
What causes a panic attack?
‘A panic attack is often – but not always – an expression of an underlying psychiatric disorder,’ Vulink explains. ‘The best-known underlying diseases are anxiety disorders. Any anxiety disorder – if it is serious enough – can be accompanied by panic attacks. Physical illnesses or the use of certain substances can also trigger a panic attack. If the panic attacks seem to come out of nowhere, then you have a panic disorder. But before you can determine that this is the case, good diagnostics are needed.’
Can you have a panic attack due to stress?
Everyone experiences stressful periods, but not everyone experiences a panic attack at some point in their lives. So not everyone can trigger one if they exceed a certain stress threshold. If you are already prone to panic attacks, stress can play a provocative role. ‘From practice we see that anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders worsen when people experience stress,’ says Vulink. ‘This can also be positive stress that you experience from pleasant things.’
Need help relaxing? Try these 5 tips to reduce your stress.
Preventing panic attacks due to stress
Stress is part of everyday life. Of course you can try to avoid all forms of stress, but avoidance is not a sustainable solution either. It is therefore better to tackle the problem at its core. The first step is to seek professional help who can help you with your mental complaints.
In the meantime, would you like some tips to help you on your way? These are 5 useful relaxation exercises to try.
How do you treat panic attacks
‘To prevent panic attacks, treatment of the underlying disease is important,’ Vulink explains. ‘Cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure is important in this regard. You also need to expose yourself to the physical symptoms of a panic attack. You will actively induce the complaints by, for example, consciously hyperventilating. This way you teach your body that it does not have to be afraid of dying from these symptoms. In this way, if all goes well, the anxiety complaints will slowly fade away.
Curious how you can reduce your complaints in the acute moment? These are 7 ways to stop a panic attack.
If you recognize yourself in the above story, Vulink says it is a good idea to speak to a doctor. Regardless of whether your stress complaints are an expression of a panic attack or not, they can be very disabling. The GP can provide a lot of support in this regard and also knows when it is time to refer someone to a specialist.
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2024-01-01 17:08:03
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