Health & Medical Mental Health

Symptoms Of A Panic Attack - Is This Really a Panic Attack Or Something Else?

The symptoms of a panic attackcan be tricky to pinpoint. There are two problems that are connected to the symptoms; one is that these can exist in various ways and the other is that they can be mistaken for symptoms of a certain disease. As an added complication, even the symptoms of some diseases can be mistaken for a panic attack.



What are the signs and symptoms?



As have been pointed out, the signs and symptoms of panic attacks is varied. One of the most common ones that are experienced by many of those having panic attacks is difficulty in breathing. When we say "difficulty in breathing", we mean that you can manifest it in one of many ways. Some of these are shortness of breath, ragged breathing, fast-paced breathing, gasping for air, and the like.



Many have often wondered why difficulty in breathing is one of the common symptoms of panic attack. There are some experts who speculate that this is most probably due to the fact that in an attack, people are very anxious. They have to be at a certain level of anxiety before it even happens.



When a person is anxious, several things happen. Hormones such as epinephrine are released in high amounts. One of the many effects that such hormone can produce is make the breathing faster. This now gives way to a person trying to either catch up with the fast breathing, or simply end up gasping for air, or other things that can be summed up as "difficulty in breathing".



Another common signs and symptoms that can manifest are dizziness, fainting or blacking out, having cold and clammy skin especially the palms and foot soles, upset stomach leading to vomiting and diarrhea, tremors, and a whole lot more. As you can clearly see, these signs and symptoms are too general. This is why they are commonly mistaken as caused by another underlying disease.



What are the problems connected with the signs and symptoms?



When the signs and symptoms are mistaken for another disease, do not ever think that it is okay. With them mistaken for something else, its cause becomes unknown. Because of this, the attacks happen even more frequently and at a higher degree of manifestation. As a result, you become a person who has to deal with the episodes for a long time.



Another complication with the manifestations of panic attacks that can result is when a certain illness really is causing them and not the anxiety. This is quite serious since with the real illness not diagnosed, the person becomes more susceptible to developing more complications of the illness. As you can see, misdiagnosis is the issue in this situation.



It is always important to know the panic attack symptoms in order to give proper treatment. By singling them out and pinpointing anxiety and panic as their main cause, problems, and complications will be avoided.

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