| This isn't a real pleasant subject but it's far easier to | | | | What his research strongly indicates is that a |
| write and read about anxiety panic attacks than it is to | | | | significant underlying cause of panic disorder may be |
| experience them. A panic disorder is when you are | | | | genetically based. At the very least, his work may help |
| subject to recurring severe anxiety panic attacks. A | | | | to reshape opinion in the medical community. Doctors |
| single panic attack can happen to almost anyone given | | | | who believe that panic disorder is some kind of |
| the right - or rather, the wrong - circumstances, but the | | | | character disorder - a weakness that can be |
| panic disorder is a recurrent assault on your life, not a | | | | overcome by just bucking up and coping - have done |
| single event. | | | | very little to help anyone with a panic disorder. |
| Most literally, panic attacks are overwhelming feelings | | | | Hopefully, some solid evidence that there are definite |
| of terror that seem to come out of nowhere. No | | | | biological underpinnings, may wake a few of the fossils |
| warning, no clear reason, no obvious threat. A massive | | | | up. |
| overdose of the fight or flight response, a panic attack | | | | Panic disorder often can lead people into becoming |
| can be experienced as if your having a heart attack or | | | | agoraphobic and hiding out in their home - or even in a |
| about to die. The kinds of symptoms you may | | | | single room. The inability to pin down any specific |
| experience include: | | | | cause can lead to everything becoming frightening. |
| => Feeling dizzy or as if you're going to pass out | | | | Others may develop alcoholism through using alcohol |
| => Tachycardia or accelerated heart beat | | | | excessively to blunt their responses. |
| => Peripheral alterations in sensation such as | | | | The use of prescription medications often becomes a |
| numbness in your fingers | | | | trap too. While anti-anxiety medications can reduce the |
| => Chest pains | | | | incidence and severity of anxiety panic attacks, they |
| => A sense of loss of control of yourself | | | | come with their own risks which can include serious |
| => Difficulty with breathing | | | | side effects and addiction. |
| => Sudden sweating or feeling cold | | | | Traditional psychotherapy has very little to offer |
| => And of course, that feeling of extreme fear | | | | anyone suffering from panic disorder since, for most, |
| First off, it's critically important to understand that panic | | | | there is no real psychologically based link to the trigger |
| disorder is not some kind of character flaw or | | | | events. Understanding your psyche may be rewarding |
| weakness. The "just get over it" crew is way out of | | | | for other reasons, but it's unlikely to be helpful with a |
| step with reality. There is now evidence that panic | | | | true panic disorder. |
| disorders may well be genetically based. Dr. Philibert, a | | | | Training systems that work on a behavioral basis to |
| professor at the College of medicine at the University | | | | teach means of breaking and side-stepping the panic |
| of Iowa, has been developing a blood test measuring | | | | response have been found helpful by thousands of |
| gene expression in lymphocytes which appears to | | | | people. Genetically based or not, we are organisms |
| allow a predictive differential diagnosis. Unfortunately, it | | | | that are incredible learning machines and can gain an |
| is a fairly costly procedure but for those patients | | | | immense degree of control over any of our built-in |
| where it isn't clear that the proper diagnosis is panic | | | | reactions through the use of behavioral techniques. |
| disorder it could be a life saver. | | | | |