Panic Attacks - Fact Sheet

People of all ages can experience them. A small number of these people will go on to develop panic disorder, whereby panic attacks are intense and occur frequently. If left untreated, panic disorder can be a debilitating condition, severely restricting the quality of life of the sufferer.

Panic attacks can occur at any time, repeatedly and without warning. Mostly they last for a few minutes, but on occasion may last for an hour or more. In between attacks the sufferer often feels intense anxiety, worrying when and where the next one will strike. Panic attacks are accompanied by the unpleasant physical symptoms of anxiety including heart palpitations, hyperventilation, muscle pain, dizziness and sweating, along with the fear that the attack will lead to death or a total loss of control.

People suffering panic attacks should understand that the physical symptoms they experience with an attack are just extreme versions of normal bodily responses to danger. Adrenaline being released into the blood stream causes the heart to beat faster and the breathing rate to increase in order to supply major muscles with more oxygen. Blood is diverted away from non-essential areas including the stomach, brain and hands (resulting in digestive problems, dizziness and tingling or numbness in the hands). Pupils dilate for more acute vision and this can cause difficulty with bright lights or vision distortion. Sometimes it may appear that the walls are folding in, or in extreme cases, inanimate objects may appear to move.

During an attack the sufferer can become convinced that the symptoms are caused by a major health problem such as a heart attack or brain tumour, or that they are going crazy. This fear causes more adrenaline to be released. Thus a worsening cycle can be generated.

Panic attacks can be accompanied by other conditions such as depression, or they can give rise to the development of phobias. If a person has a panic attack in the supermarket or while in an elevator and then associates panic attacks with these activities, he or she may start avoiding them. Some people’s lives become very restricted and they avoid normal, everyday activities such as shopping, driving or even leaving the house, or they will only do them when accompanied by their partner or other trusted friend.

There are a number of treatments for panic attacks with research showing Cognitive behavioural therapy to be best practice. Some people choose to combine a number of treatment options.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is very effective. It teaches those with panic attacks how to identify their anxiety and how to change anxiety generating thoughts. The underlying belief with CBT is that it is not so much events that are a cause of anxiety but what we think about them.

Medication - some of the anti-anxiety drugs are very potent and some produce severe side effects in some people. While medication can give short term relief to the symptoms it is important that other strategies are used as well, including counselling and learning more about the condition.
Complementary therapies - use of herbs, vitamins and homeopathy can be effective for some people when either used alone or in conjunction with other treatments.

Diet and exercise - physical fitness and a good balanced diet are essential for emotional well being. Many people find that doing something physical helps reduced the “keyed up” feelings often associated with anxiety. For some people, high caffeine foods such as coffee and chocolate, can act as a trigger to panic attacks, probably because caffeine can cause bodily changes such as an increase in heart rate which can be misinterpreted as the start of a panic attack or a heart condition; the fear this causes can then trigger a real panic attack.

Relaxation techniques/meditation - these can be useful to reduce stress or to help you cope during an attack. There are numerous books and tapes which can help you learn these techniques.

When experiencing a panic attack remember the following:

Copyright Brain Injury Association of Queensland, Inc, Australia, 2007. This is one of a range of fact sheets made available by the Brain Injury Association of Queensland. While all care has been taken to ensure information is accurate, these fact sheets are only intended as a guide and proper medical or professional advice and information should be sought. The Association will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages that arise from following the information provided in these fact sheets. You can visit the Association’s website at www.braininjury.org.au or send emails to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it