ABSTRACT

Panic attacks are both a form and a symptom of anxiety disorder, and they are fairly common, occurring in 15-20% of the population. Panic attacks are a fairly extreme stress reaction, perhaps more so than nausea, headaches, or diarrhoea, but also in some ways similar. People who experience panic attacks also seem to be those who experience stress in their respiratory and cardiovascular system, rather than anywhere else. They can be affected by changes in hormone levels. Panic attacks are one of the symptoms that accompany acute stress, post traumatic shock, or sometimes agitated depression. Behaviours associated with panic attacks include the inability to sit still, fidgeting, snapping at people, pacing up and down, having to leave the room suddenly, and frequent yawning or sighing. It is very common, if not endemic, in panic attacks, and, indeed, one's breathing holds the key to undoing and being able to control these panic attacks.