An anxiety or panic attack occurs when the body mistakenly reacts to intense danger when there is no danger present. Panic attacks are a prevalent disorder in our society. As many as one third of the population will experience at least one anxiety attack in their life. That translates into millions of people a year who suffer with this affliction and few of them will seek and find help. It can be helpful to know the most common causes of anxiety attacks.
Panic disorders have been found to run in families. This may mean that the inheritance genes play a strong role in determining who will get it. Although it must be noted that individuals with no family history have also developed the disorder.
Vitamin B deficiency is another common and easily treatable cause of panic disorder. When there is a chronic lack of vitamin b in the system the adrenal glands kick in. They react by flooding the body with adrenaline which is much like the increase in epinephrine that results in a panicked feeling. The glands are doing this so that the body is prepared to cope with life, this is called the fight or flight response. At this moment there is an increased heart rate, nausea and or vision problems, a panic attack. Many people will try to treat this with supplements but studies show it is much better to get vitamin b from their diet. A person should not merely try to treat this deficiency themselves, they should seek medical attention because many parasites can cause this and they will need medication to remove them.
Phobias are also a likely culprit in anxiety attacks. Panic attacks are similar because both are based on irrational fears to normal situations. For instance say a person has a phobia of spiders, who doesn't, right? And in the course of a shopping trip they unexpectedly come across a spider in the store, well on return trips to the same location they may experience a panic attack in anticipation of the fear.
Short term triggers should never be overlooked when it comes to the causes of anxiety attacks; some cases are indeed situational an example would be a person has recently suffered a significant personal loss such as death of a loved one or divorce. Temporary panic disorders are common in these situations. Even simple changes like a job promotion or moving can be triggers, as well as the use of nicotine, caffeine or marijuana.
Medications can also be a culprit in panic disorder. Ritalin, a common ADHD medication lists it as a common side effect. In patients with ADHD Ritalin has a calming effect, but in fact it is a stimulant and as such can cause increased heart rate. As stated above this is a normal effect of a panic attack.
With any anxiety problem people are strongly urged to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Left untreated these can progress from occasional bouts to more severe anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia. This extreme disorder can leave a victim homebound for years. There are many treatments available from simple breathing treatments to formal medication and the prognosis for full recovery is very good.
You must learn to break the fear of having another panic attack or you will never experience complete freedom from anxiety. Go to www.squidoo.com/what-can-i-do-about-anxiety1 and find out how to eliminate anxiety and panic attacks without the use of medication and take your life back for good!
