Paper Example on Panic Attacks: A College Student's Reality

“Have you ever been in a situation where you could not breathe suddenly, arms began to tingle, you felt dizzy, and your heart feels as if it were flying around in your chest? Let me inform you that I have experienced this situation several times in my life. I later found out that I had experienced a panic attack, which is often a symptom of depression.

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Because we are all under a great deal of pressure as college students, I want to share the information about panic attacks with you, hoping that it will help - if you find yourself or someone else in this situation. Over the next few minutes, I would like to cover the following points: the severe condition with physical and mental symptoms, how many people have experienced panic attacks, and finally, the two primary options for treatment.

Let us start with nature panic attacks. I have suffered from panic attacks since I was 17 years old. The attack was brought about by the constant pressures of being a teenager, and specific childhood traumas exacerbated the condition. Therefore, panic attacks can be severe, and signs of having an attack can be seen through physical and mental symptoms (E. Bergin, and S. Kendler).

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, those that have suffered from panic attacks state that "there are unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms. "According to the same source NIMH, there are common symptoms including heart, breath, dizziness, numbness or tingling, and mentally there is a feeling of fear, hopelessness, and detached (de Jonge).

Now that people know its nature let us look at how many people are impacted. Imagine that panic attacks affect millions of people. Recently I reviewed the research collected by the American Psychiatric Association, and in 2011 six million people were suffering from a panic attack. According to the National Institute of Mental, Health women suffer twice as often as men, and most people develop symptoms before the age of 24 (de Jonge).

The science behind this fact is that the female gender body is different compared to males. For instance, a woman's body releases very many hormones during pregnancy, making certain disorders like repetitive thoughts come to the forefront. In addition to this, the way human life is set up, women are prone to more situations, which are likely to increase their panic attacks. It is not a secret that women are twice more likely to be impacted negatively by childhood traumas than men.

Childhood traumas include emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and even traumatic experience like a child watching their mother getting beaten by her father—all of these fuel panic attacks in the society, especially to the female gender (M. Mathyssek et al.). A critical fact is that the United States of America, in comparison to Europe, experiences more panic attacks in any given year. In fact, in 2013, the American Psychiatric Association released the statistics, and they showed Europe at three percent, while the United States of America was at 11% (de Jonge).

Now that people know the severity and whom it impacts let us talk about treatments. There are two primary options available to those that suffer. One treatment is medication. The other treatment available is Cognitive-behavioral therapy. Drugs have a positive impact on the treatment of panic attacks and depression. Researchers have been able to identify three critical drugs in this arena.

The first category of the drug in this realm is called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These medications include Prozac and Paxil. The second category of medication is known as serotonin, norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. The third category is called Benzodiazepines. Doctors often recommend cognitive behavioral therapy over medication because it will help people understand the condition and manage it.

Taking panic attacks seriously is very important. Let us take a quick look back at the points discussed. As we have seen, panic attacks can be severe with physical and mental symptoms. The physical symptoms include things like hot flashes, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and even headaches. The mental symptoms include things like racing thoughts, fear of looming danger, thoughts of death, and even feeling of insanity.

We discussed how panic attacks touch the lives of millions.it is very clear that a panic attack is a global problem. Europe is affected by it since 3% of its people report panic attacks every year. Lastly, there is a relief. Both medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy have helped me.

Mayo Clinic states that close with impact - panic attacks were once dismissed as nerves or stress, but now widely recognized as a real medical condition. Although panic attacks can significantly affect people's quality of life – (Pause) treatment is available. Thus people should pay close attention to their family members, classmates, friends, and colleagues when they start exhibiting the signs and symptoms and go to their aid. Early intervention will have a positive impact on that person's life. Thus it is our collective responsibility as the citizens of the United States of America to tackle this problem and make our communities better.”

Works Cited

de Jonge, Peter. "Cross-National Epidemiology Of Panic Disorder And Panic Attacks In The World Mental Health Surveys". NCBI, 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5143159/. Accessed 14 July 2020.

E. Bergin, Jocilyn, and Kenneth S. Kendler. "Common Psychiatric Disorders And Caffeine Use, Tolerance, And Withdrawal: An Examination Of Shared Genetic And Environmental Effects". NCBI, 2013, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3443633/. Accessed 14 July 2020.

M. Mathyssek, Christina et al. "Childhood Internalizing And Externalizing Problems Predict The Onset Of Clinical Panic Attacks Over Adolescence: The TRAILS Study". NCBI, 2012, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3520948/. Accessed 14 July 2020.