How to Prevent and Control a Panic Attack

By

Barbara Stepko,

It can start with a sense of dread that gradually builds. You may hyperventilate and feel that your heart is pounding so hard it will explode out of your chest. You could be struck by a

sense of unreality and impending doom.

That’s how some describe symptoms of a panic attack. 

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that about 5 percent of adults in the U.S. will experience a panic disorder at least once in their lives.

Sometimes they include panic attacks: full-on surges of anxiety that start abruptly, often without warning. And though they're short-lived — they usually reach their peak within 10 minutes,

then fade within a half-hour — they can pack one heck of a punch.

Among the symptoms: a racing heart, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, chest pain, a sensation of choking, nausea, dizziness, numbness or chills, and hot or cold flashes.

In extreme cases, sufferers may report an out-of-body experience or an intense, inexplicable feeling of dread. Some go rushing to the ER, convinced they're having a heart attack, losing

their mind, or even dying.

"The most eloquent description I've ever heard was from a patient,” says Philip Muskin, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.

“'Imagine that you're sitting all alone at home. It's dusk and the room is starting to get dark. Suddenly, you feel a hand slide around your throat. That's a panic attack.'”

triggers an attack

One of the most frightening aspects of these episodes is their unpredictability: They can happen anywhere, at any time, even rousing you from a deep sleep. You can be overcome when you're

perfectly calm or when you're stressed out — say, by the pressures of caring for a parent or a heavy workload at the office. Change, perhaps a big move, can also prime you for an overanxious

fight-or-flight response.