Panic!

If you feel that your hands are sweating, have difficulty breathing, have numb hands, feel dizzy, start trembling you may be having a panic attack. I have never known anyone that had been diagnosed with panic disorder. The only ones I have seen having a panic attack are the people in shows or movies, but I know those people are acting. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, panic disorder affects about 6 million American adults and is twice more common in women than in men.  I had no idea that it affected so many people. People with panic disorders have a fear of disaster or of losing control even when there is no real danger.  It may also be a strong physical reaction and feel like a heart attack. Having a panic disorder can interfere with the person’s life as it affects their social environment. It might actually develop not from an object or an event but actually from the fear of having another attack. Even, when they are not experiencing a panic attack, they can spend much of their time worrying about when their next attack will be that they end up missing out on activities and places. In case I got you confused about what is panic disorder is, I provided a video in which a psychologist describes what it is. Now what causes panic disorder? The exact causes are unclear but there are theories that some factors might include family history, abnormalities in the brain, substance abuse, and major life stress. Usually it is treated with psychotherapy, medication or both. In the next video that I provided, it shows the life of James living with panic attacks and how little by little he overcomes his anxiety of subway.