Fear is associated with every panic attack.
Sudden feelings of terror strike without warning and often leave lasting irrational fears.
Panic attacks create a vicious cycle that can seem impossible to overcome.
Every new attack builds on the fear and soon you find yourself avoiding things you once enjoyed.
People who suffer from this debilitating condition, not only experience fear during the actual attack, but also experience fear as a symptom prior to the attack and as a lasting effect of the attack itself.
Fear as a symptom The initial fear prior to an attack can start off as small as a sense of nervousness that something is going to happen that will be embarrassing to you; to something as large as an overwhelming sense of terror that something horrible is going to happen which you will have no control over.
This sense of fear happens suddenly and without warning.
Additional symptoms that can be associated as fear related include: racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, chest tightening and pains, hot flashes or chills, trembling and shaking.
These feelings will quickly intensify and you will experience a variety of the symptoms during the attacks.
These can last in duration from 5 to 20 minutes and vary in intensity.
Fearing another panic attack Unquestionably, this can be one of the scariest things to ever happen to someone.
Unfortunately, if you have experienced one panic attack, you have a great chance of having another.
That fact alone is enough to create a pattern of fear and avoidance in many sufferers.
For example, if you have experienced a panic attack while driving, you may find yourself fearing to drive.
This cycle of fear creates a loop of anxiety that will eventually lead to an increased number of occurrences.
Breaking the cycle The key to overcoming panic attacks and gaining complete relief starts when you address the fear.
Medications will only mask things and leave you in a fog.
Only when you have learned how to properly deal with the anxiety and primary symptom of fear will you be able to regain your life as you knew it before.