Cape Town - Panic Awareness Day is marked tomorrow and organisations wish to spread the word that there is help available and you don’t have to go untreated.
The day is to create more awareness about panic attacks and disorders and help people take better control of their stressful day-to-day situations.
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) will be sharing more information about understanding the difference between panic attacks and panic disorder.
“A frightening combination of physical and psychological symptoms, panic attacks are extremely unpleasant to experience, and they can happen to anyone. Panic Disorder can be a terrifying illness that can cause great distress, isolation, and limit your life. Don’t suffer in silence and alone. I had many years of problems and attacks but when I got treatment and started to understand panic, I became totally well again,” said Sadag founder, Zane Wilson.
Sadag explained that a panic attack is a kind of fear response that sums up a person’s reaction to danger, stress, or excitement. Panic attacks happen due to different reasons for different people. Certain places, situations, or activities seem to trigger panic attacks for some people, while others experience panic attacks for no discernible reason.
“Anxiousness is a normal feeling, it is there to protect us and help us function. If we didn’t have any anxiety, we wouldn’t be equipped with a fight or flight mode. However, when you feel that your anxiety is taking over and dominating your daily life, it is then that you need to reach out and get help", said specialist psychiatrist and clinical psychologist Dr Frans Korb.
Member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists, Dr Gagu Matsebula said a panic disorder is made up of panic attacks. The disorder is characterised by a person worrying that something is wrong with them.
“This person might try doing things to get rid of this, like maybe a person will try to use alcohol or avoid certain things because they think these things are bringing up the panic disorder. Anyone can have a panic attach and there some people who are more at risk if they have other panic disorders.”
Psychiatric intake clinician at Netcare Akeso mental health facilities Megan Hosking, said another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder.
“This is when you have brief episodes of intense fear and multiple physical symptoms called panic attacks. Attacks can occur repeatedly and unexpectedly, even when there is no perceived external threat and are part of the brain’s faulty fight or flight response.”
The signs and symptoms of panic disorder vary from being very scared and feeling out of control, chest pains or heart palpitations, dizziness, light-headedness, blurred vision and feeling of suffocation or choking.
“Experiencing a panic attack can be a very frightening experience and getting to the possible cause of it, as well as developing skills for easing these symptoms, can greatly improve your daily experience,” said Hosking.