What Conditions Causes Panic Attacks?
Friday, August 29, 2008 17:16There may be many causes behind a panic attack. Let’s discuss few of them here-
Heredity - The latest studies have found that panic attacks can be hereditary. Some patients get these tendencies in their genes from either or both of their parents or their relatives. If a child has a history of panic attacks in his family then he may also suffer from them in the later stages of his life.
Extreme Stress - Sometimes, extreme stress about something also causes panic attacks. The patient may be feeling stressful about facing a certain situation or the consequences of his action. Some patients may also become extremely stressed by the pressure of performance in an important event of their lives. These types of panic attacks should be given special attention as the patient may even develop psychological problems or start using drugs or alcohol to relieve the stress. It may create much bigger problems in future.
Chronic Fears - If a person has some kind of chronic fear or phobia towards a certain thing or situation and he is exposed to it, then this may cause a panic attack. For example, if a person is scared of heights and he is taken to a tall building then he may get a panic attack. Sometimes, these phobias may look and sound completely irrational and may be a sign of a bigger mental or psychological problem. These types of phobias should be given immediate psychiatric attention.
Instant Triggers - Some type of incident or accident may also cause a panic attack in some people. For instance, sudden loss or absence of a loved one may cause a panic attack.
Use of medication - Some type of medicines may cause panic attacks as a side effect. But this condition may be temporary in some cases as some medications take time to get adjusted in our body and may cause the patient to panic. But the patient must consult a doctor if he is feeling panicky after taking a certain medication.
Situational Panic - Certain situations may cause a person to panic also. A person may have a panic attack while going through a certain traumatic or scary moment. Such type of panic attacks should sub-side once that situation is over and if it does not go away and the patient has a panic attack each time he is even reminded of that thing, then it could be a sign of ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’ and he must see his doctor for this.
