Dr. Ohad Hershkovitz

Anxiety attacks and their symptoms

Anxiety attacks, known as panic attacks in mental health circles, are episodes of intense panic or fear. An anxiety attack or panic attack usually occur suddenly and without warning. Sometimes there’s an obvious trigger— getting stuck in an elevator, for example, or thinking about the big speech you’re giving in a few hours—but in other cases, the attacks come out of the blue.

Anxiety attacks usually peak within ten minutes, and they rarely last more than a half hour. But during that short time, the terror can be so severe that you feel as if you’re about to die or totally lose control. The physical symptoms are themselves so frightening that many people believe they’re having a heart attack. After a panic attack is over, you may be worried about having another one, particularly in a public place where help isn’t available or you can’t easily escape.

Symptoms of anxiety attacks include:

Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is characterized by repeated, unexpected panic attacks, as well as fear of experiencing another episode. Panic disorder may also be accompanied by agoraphobia, which is a fear of being in places where escape or help would be difficult in the event of a panic attack. If you have agoraphobia, you are likely to avoid public places such as shopping malls or confined spaces such as an airplane.

Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)

If you have a debilitating fear of being seen negatively by others and humiliated in public, you may have social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia. Social anxiety disorder can be thought of as extreme shyness. In severe cases, social situations are avoided altogether. Performance anxiety (better known as stage fright) is the most common type of social phobia.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - Treatment of Anxiety Attacks

• Cognitive therapy is based on the idea that certain ways of thinking can trigger, or 'fuel', certain mental health problems such as panic attacks and agoraphobia. The therapist helps you to understand your current thought patterns. In particular, to identify any harmful, unhelpful, and 'false' ideas or thoughts which you have. For example, the ideas that you may have at the beginning of a panic attack, wrong beliefs about the physical symptoms, how you react to the symptoms, etc. The aim of therapy is then to change your ways of thinking to avoid these ideas, and to help your thought patterns to be more realistic and helpful.
   
• Behavior therapy aims to change behaviors which are harmful or not helpful. This may be particularly useful if you have agoraphobia with panic disorder where you 'avoid' various situations or places. The therapist also teaches you how to control anxiety when you face up to the feared situations and places, for example by using breathing techniques.