Archive for category Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Triggers Of Panic And Anxiety
Posted by in Anxiety Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder on September 4, 2009
Almost everyone has experienced the trigger of a panic and anxiety attack, they probably just didn’t know it. Think back to a time where you were in a situation of stress, fear anxiety. Can you remember how it felt?
Does this sound familiar to you?
A woman walks down a darkly lit street after a late night at a party. She feels uneasy walking home alone, so she begins to walk faster. The street is eerily quiet and all she can hear is her footsteps. Her breath quickens and her heart starts to pound. All of a sudden a wave of fear jolts through her.
This jolt, this fear, is what some people call the fight or flight response, or simply put, the stress response. The stress response is basically a mechanism that gets you ready in a position of danger. We all have this mechanism built inside us.
It is a set of physiological and psychological changes the body makes in response to a threat. The problem is that even emotional stress, such as fear, anxiety and even worry can trigger this biological response.
Back in prehistoric times this would have been of use to the caveman, who had to be on guard against other threatening animals, hence why it is referred to as the “fight-or-flight” response. When triggered the body releases hormones such as adrenaline thus causing symptoms similar to panic symptoms such as:
• Pupil dilation
• Increased awareness
• Fast breathing
• Slowed metabolism
• Increased heart rate
• Increased sweating – to cool the body down
• A sudden boost of strength
These effects can help the hunter stand and fight or run away to safety when being attacked. You might be thinking, what is the point of this mechanism now? Well, in a modern day society it does have a lack of uses. Many scientists believe that it has become a redundant response that is not needed, but we can’t simply erase this part of human biology. Human evolution takes thousands, if not millions of years to respond.
Another negative factor is that it is widely recognized as a major cause in anxiety disorders as well as mental illnesses. Stress, or too much stress rather, is very bad for physical and mental health.
During a stressful time, or in a case of a panic and anxiety attack, the sufferer is in a sense of limbo. If they can’t escape from the situation, they are forced to endure the symptoms. Because there is nothing physically to fight off, they are not in a position to expel the overproduction of hormones built up inside.
The natural response would be to respond in a physical way, thus releasing the stress hormones. Constant triggering of the stress response without a proper outlet is very damaging to a person’s mental and physical state of being.
There is however a natural and safe method to counter panic and anxiety, and diffuse the stress response which doesn’t require physical exertion.
Possible Causes Of An Anxiety Panic Attack
Posted by in Anxiety Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder on September 1, 2009
An anxiety panic attack can seem to come out of nowhere, regardless of time and place but is there a more logical explanation? In fact, there are many triggers for panic symptoms. Let’s take a look at some of the possible causes of an attack;
Drugs;
LSD and more commonly marijuana are euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs that can alter perception and heighten senses. Many describe euphoric and relaxing states but there is a darker side to hallucinogenic drugs. Restlessness, intense paranoia, nausea and increased anxiety; these can lead to an anxiety panic attack.
Anxiety disorders;
There are numerous types of anxiety disorders including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder and Phobias. Each disorder has its own characteristics but share some symptoms.
Phobias;
There are literally hundreds of specific phobias some of the more common ones are; Claustrophobia, which is the fear of confined spaces and also; aviatophobia, the fear of flying. Uncommon ones include; agyrophobia, the fear of streets or crossing a street; Macrophobia, the fear of long waits; and Thaasophobia, the fear of sitting.
Although some of these phobias might seem a little strange and even hard to imagine, they are very real phobias for those that suffer them. How common are phobias? Phobias affect more than 10 percent of the population.
Being faced with one’s phobia can trigger an anxiety panic attack, or in simpler terms, the stress response. This response is a natural chemical and biological reaction to fear or stress. However, over time these chronic stressors take their toll on a person’s nervous system, making them hypersensitive to future attacks.
This is essentially what a panic attack is. It’s a way for the body to cope with a threat, regardless if there’s an actual danger or not. Although most people would agree, that having a panic attack is probably the worst way to deal with a threat, your nervous system cannot tell the difference between a perceived threat and a real threat.
For instance, many phobias may seem completely irrational, take arachnophobia for example, this is the fear of spiders. There is no actual danger (unless of course it’s poisonous) from spiders, yet millions of adults are scared and even terrified of them.
The same biological response when they see one is no different to a situation of actual danger, i.e. a deer jumping out in front of you whilst driving. The same panicky feeling that you get inside is exactly the same.
In the case of the deer jumping out in front of you; in that instance a chain of chemical reactions happened inside of you; your eyes dilated, your heart rate speeded up and strength and speed increased.
It might have saved your life, perhaps it helped you swerve and keep the car under control with the extra heightened senses. After the incident your heart would still be racing, you’d be breathing hard and you’d probably be sweating.
However in a case where an anxiety panic attack occurs without real physical threat, you’re body and mind reacts the same way. It’s because there’s no obvious cause that people often describe attacks as ‘out-of-the-blue’.
Are Symptoms Of Anxiety More Common Than You Think?
Posted by in Anxiety Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder on August 29, 2009
There are various symptoms of anxiety ranging from minor; sweating, dry mouth and feeling tired, to severe; choking sensation, derealization, fear of dying and insomnia. These panic symptoms are more commonly related to anxiety disorders such as Social Phobia or GAD, and may last for minutes if not longer.
Anxiety disorders aside, there are many preconceptions as to what anxiety is and why it happens. In actual fact, anxiety is a very common reaction to experiences of danger, stress and fear. Most people have experienced anxiety, but we may have experienced it and reacted in a different way,
One person may respond to a stressful situation well and actually take control. Another person might feel too much pressure and respond entirely differently. The chemical reaction to the situation is the same, yet the outcomes completely different.
We are all unique, so it’s no surprise that our perceptions and fears are different from each other. Although this stress response was designed to help us react to an actual physical danger thousands of years ago, it still has its uses.
Even in modern society the stress response can be highly useful. For example, perhaps you have an important test coming up – you experience anxiety because you don’t want to fail and you want a decent grade. This anxiety is likely to motivate you to study harder for the test and pass.
This can also work in a negative fashion. Say, you have the job interview of a lifetime in a week’s time. You’ve been worrying and stressing about it for the entire week before the interview. On the day of the interview, you’re jittery, sweaty and a nervous wreck – anxiety got the better of you.
Although anxiety is highly adaptive, it can spiral out of control. For people who suffer from anxiety disorders, this is often the case. Sufferers of anxiety disorders usually have an overly sensitive reaction to stress and anxiety. And this is often hard to live with.
Causes of such disorders can be due to excessive stimulation of the stress response. In other cases it can be hereditary and be passed on from parent to child. This does not mean that anxiety disorders aren’t treatable however.
Minor symptoms of anxiety may build up to a full blown panic attack. Often emotions can bottle up and when you least expect it, come pouring out. These kinds of attacks can seem unprovoked but in reality they are not. The important thing to realize, is that symptoms of anxiety are just chemical reactions that we interpret as feelings and sensations.
Knowing Panic Symptoms
Posted by in Anxiety Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder on August 26, 2009
If you’re unsure if you’re suffering from panic symptoms or not, there is a rule of thumb that you can follow. And that is, panic symptoms occur during a time that you’re experiencing anxiety. Sounds obvious enough, however some symptoms seem unrelated to anxiousness.
What’s more, the list of symptoms of panic attacks is long and varied. Sufferers may experience obscure and uncommon symptoms. In addition, the feeling of anxiousness can vary in severity. In some cases, sufferers may not even realize they are suffering from a panic attack.
This might sound odd, but when you consider that disturbing panic symptoms such as derealization and depersonalization can occur, then perhaps it’s understandable. Although derealization is often related to the use of certain street drugs such as LSD and marijuana, it is often related to mental disorders such as Depression, PTSD, GAD and Panic Disorder.
Derealization is one of the most terrifying experiences a person can go through. Regardless of how many times a person experiences one, it is just as terrifying each time. Symptoms might include;
- A deranged and unhinged feeling, like you’re going crazy
- Dizziness and a loss of balance
- Loss of identity and amnesia
- Emotional numbness and disconnection from the world
- Dreamlike sensations like you’re just a spectator
- Feelings of dread and despair.
A typical symptom of depersonalization can be described as a feeling of invisibility. Many patients describe the feeling as like being a zombie or robot. They might even look in the mirror and fail to recognize themselves.
Obviously both these panic symptoms are highly unpleasant and scary but not every sufferer will experience them. More common anxiety symptoms include difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, a pounding heart, sweating and nausea; generally lasting 10 minutes.
There are many types of anxiety disorders, each with different triggers for anxiety. Phobia is a type of anxiety disorder which is highly common. More specifically social phobia is a condition where the sufferer has constant feelings that everyone is watching, staring, and judging them, even if it is entirely not the case.
These feelings cause anxiousness, and fear that they’ll do something embarrassing in front of everyone. It’s during times such as standing at a checkout or standing on a train that provoke an attack.
Fear of doing something stupid is what often triggers the fight or flight response. A panic attack in its basic form is the body’s stress response starting up. The release of adrenaline and other hormones create all these sensations that we call panic symptoms.
Having an anxiety disorder does not necessarily mean that you suffer from panic attacks. In fact many sufferers can live fairly normal lives. However, treating your anxiety and panic symptoms is important since they are susceptible to worsening over time.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Rape, and Sexual Abuse
Posted by in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder on August 24, 2009
The estimated risk for rape survivors developing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is 49%. The risk for those beaten or experiencing physical assault is 31.9%, whilst the risk for others who experienced sexual assault is 23.7%. Given these figures, it is no wonder women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, as they are statistically significantly more likely to experience sexual assault.
Post traumatic stress disorder is characterized by intense fear, a sense of helplessness, or horror. It can affect all areas of a person’s life, their emotions, mental wellbeing, and physical health. And symptoms are generally worse in situations, like rape and abuse, where the trauma was deliberately initiated against those involved.
A person with post traumatic stress disorder may re-live the traumatic events, having flashbacks or other reminders and images that intrude on their waking hours, or in dreams and nightmares. These reminders may also trigger physical symptoms, such as heart palpitations or chills. Or emotional problems, like anxiety, depression, and dread.
People with post traumatic stress disorder may avoid any reminders of the trauma, whether that is people associated with the experience, or places, or even thoughts of the trauma. They can distance themselves from family and friends, and withdraw from everyday activities and things they used to enjoy.
Relationship problems are common for survivors of rape and sexual abuse. Some survivors avoid intimacy, others avoid sex, and some avoid both, and create patterns in their lives where those coping mechanisms are maintained. But sufferers of PTSD who did not experience any sexual abuse can also have problems in their relationships, or in social situations.
Another characteristic of post traumatic stress disorder is being on guard all the time, and suddenly feeling anger or irritability. There can be problems with sleeping and concentrating, and sufferers may be startled easily. Self destructive behaviours, such as gambling, risky sex, drug use, alcohol abuse, or other problems like dangerous driving, may be present. Depression, disassociation, or other mental health problems can develop.
Not all of these characteristics may be present in PTSD, and the degree to which one experiences them may vary also. And PTSD may not develop until months or years after the trauma. Particularly in relation to abuse in childhood, symptoms of PTSD can pass, then reappear later in life. This can make it difficult to recognize when PTSD is occurring, as survivors may not associate their current feeling and behaviours with pas events.
Each time symptoms appear, however, they provide an opportunity for healing. Post traumatic stress disorder can be treated, using a combination of medication and psychotherapy.
Whilst medications were not thought to help in the treatment of PTSD in the past, they have been found to be beneficial now, probably due to newer ones being available. The SSRI’s (selective serotonin uptake inhibitors) zoloft and paxil are both approved by the FDA for treating PTSD. And newer antidepressants like effexor and serzone are also beneficial, and tend to be used when the patient does not tolerate paxil and zoloft, or those medications aren’t effective.
There are 3 types of psychotherapy that can be used to treat PTSD. These are exposure management, cognitive therapy, and anxiety management. A combination of all 3 may be used, or one individually. Each person is different in what they will respond to.
In exposure therapy, patients confront, in a safe therapeutic environment, the situations, people, and memories associated with the trauma. People with PTSD usually avoid this very thing, but by working through the trauma in this way, exposure therapy is actually very effective at healing PTSD.
Cognitive therapy helps in the process of understanding how our thoughts affect our feelings, and provides ways of shifting negative thinking. Negative thinking can perpetuate a mental prison where joy and interconnectedness is no longer felt. Changing those dynamics can provide a new framework with which to process the trauma, and allow healing to occur.
In anxiety management, skills are learnt that help one cope better with the symptoms and triggers of post traumatic stress disorder. They can help reduce the intensity of the symptoms, though they need to be practised to be effective. Anxiety management techniques can be very helpful in controlling anxiety whilst doing exposure therapy. Some techniques used include relaxation, breathing techniques, assertiveness training, and positive thinking and self talk.
References:
1. ptsdalliance.org/about_what.html
2. ptsd.factsforhealth.org/whatmeds.html
3. nimh.nih.gov/publicat/anxiety.cfm
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