Panic

Everyone can most likely relate to a situation where you do not know what to do when something is going wrong. Since being a college student, this would be an example that applies. An exam for a class is coming up, so the process to begin studying starts up and you are feeling confident with the material that is being reviewed. The exam day finally comes and the questions are getting answered pretty quickly, and then this happens. A question comes up that you can recall from the all of the hard work and studying that was completed, but the only problem is you do not remember the answer. Some may start to get restless and others may feel the heart racing and immediate stress coming in. By having this feeling it may affect some answers to the other questions on the exam because of the stress making its way in. Does this sound familiar? Well, the scenario here that was mapped out portrays an example of panicking.

What is panic? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, panic is a sudden overpowering fright (Merriam-Webster, 2013). Branching off of just panicking, panics can lead to more frightful events that can change someone’s life. Being in a panic feels almost like an “out of body” experience that people try to avoid, but sometimes they just happen and there is really not much someone can do about it. What is so interesting about all of this is that it can all start from stress, and there is more to stress than most people know about. Panics may lead to panic disorders and panic attacks.

Now that you know a basic background of panicking, here is one of many problems that are caused from panic. A “Panic disorder is characterized by un-expected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness or abdominal distress” (National Institutes of Health, 1999). Some may say this sounds like the symptoms of having a heart attack, but the both go hand in hand with each other and can lead to a lot of other bad news to come. Lately, Panic Disorder has been paramount with research and controversy as well. “Though biological conceptualizations have been predominant, psychological theorists have recently advanced conditioning, personality, and cognitive hypotheses to explain the etiology of panic disorder” (McNally, 1990). “Many people with panic disorder develop intense anxiety between episodes. It is not unusual for a person with panic disorder to develop phobias about places or situations where panic attacks have occurred, such as in supermarkets or other everyday situations. As the frequency of panic attacks increases, the person often begins to avoid situations where they fear another attack may occur or where help would not be immediately available. This avoidance may eventually develop into agoraphobia, an inability to go beyond known and safe surroundings because of intense fear and anxiety” (National Institutes of Health, 1999).

Another problem from panicking is panic attacks. “A panic attack can only be described as a comprehensive emotional nightmare. Some people with panic feel like they are in an escalating cycle of catastrophe and doom and that something bad is going to happen to them in a certain particular moment” (Richards, 2013). As we know, stress can cause panic, but sometimes panic attacks can even happen out of nowhere. According to Dr. Thomas A. Richards, there are people that do not even approach their doctors once they have had an attack. Personally, I do not know why someone would not want to take care of themselves if an event like this happened in someone’s life. On the bright side, there are treatments now for panic attacks and disorders. After a panic attack has taken its toll, there is a mental and physical pain that takes place which leads to not feeling like help is anywhere in site, or depression.

Recall the earlier example about the exam with a basic example of panicking. Yes, we never want to think about having a feeling like that, but it happens to everyone. Seeing major differences between that example and the disorders and attacks that occur with people hopefully can give some awareness about panics. They are not to be played with and should be taken seriously because of the affects that it has 

-Anthony Capaldi

                                           Sources

(1999). In Facts About Panic Disorder. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.healingwell.com/library/anxiety/info5.asp

(2013). In Panic. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distress

McNally, R. J. (1990). Psychological approaches to panic disorder: a review.Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 403.

Richards, T. A. (2013). In Basic Facts About Panic Attacks. Retrieved April 11, 2013, from http://www.anxietynetwork.com/content/basic-facts-panic-attacks