Panic attacks are common in men and can develop into panic disorder if left untreated. Learn to recognize the signs and take control early.
While panic attacks may feel like things we can’t control, overcoming them is totally possible.
It was a long week. After having dinner and putting your kids to bed, you put on a show to relax. Without warning, you start to notice a pressure in your chest. Confused, you think about whether you ate something unusual, except you didn’t, and as the pressure builds to pain, you start to worry something is really wrong. You begin sweating, your body is shaking, and your perception of time warps. You are terrified as you realize you’re having a heart attack and are about to die.
Except you aren’t. After asking a friend to drive you to the emergency room, you talk to a doctor and learn that your tests and vitals are normal. A doctor explains that you experienced a panic attack, joining the 13%[1] of people worldwide to whom this happens every year.
A panic attack is a sudden rush of extreme fear or discomfort that typically peaks within ten minutes.[2] During these periods, people usually experience a number of the following symptoms:
This list is not exhaustive, but it captures some of the most common symptoms observed. Certain symptoms, like sweating and stomach pain, may be more common in men.[3] While we throw around the term (e.g., “They were literally about to have a panic attack”), a panic attack is a specific and often misunderstood event, and its effects can be devastating to our quality of life.
Many people who are suffering from high anxiety or panic attacks wonder: “Why is this happening?” It is very normal to want to understand something that is so scary and new. Although we don’t know the causes for certain, there are several factors that seem to put people at higher risk for experiencing panic attacks. These include genetics, family environment, certain personality characteristics that make people more sensitive to stress, and experiencing stressful life events.[4] Experiencing discrimination and racism may also contribute to susceptibility to panic attacks.[5]
Panic disorder is a condition that is characterised by frequent panic attacks. The first professional contact many people have after they first have a panic attack is with the emergency room or a primary care doctor. This makes sense given that panic attacks involve physical symptoms that mimic serious medical issues (e.g., heart attack) that aren’t actually happening but feel like they are.
People often find themselves relieved to learn that all of their medical tests have come back normal. But then they want to know: why did this happen? What if it happens again while I’m driving or giving a presentation? How can I stop this from happening again?
As a natural outgrowth of these worries, some of us will develop compensatory behaviours: changes we make to attempt to offset or prevent a really unpleasant feeling or experience—in this case, a panic attack.
For example:
Who would want to go through that experience again? If we seem to have ways of preventing another panic attack, why would we not implement these strategies? The problem is that short-term avoidance strategies usually backfire by maintaining anxiety in the long run. Notice the emerging beliefs that underlie the examples above:
The more we avoid, the stronger these beliefs become. We can quickly get hooked on these strategies for coping with the almighty fear that we will have another panic attack, that it will never get better, or that we might go crazy. Avoidance begets avoidance, and over time, our worlds start to shrink.
Among the millions of people who experience a panic attack each year, only about 1.7%[6] of them will develop a full diagnosis of panic disorder during their lifetime. Men experience panic disorder at about half the rate of women,[7] although this may be because men and women experience anxiety differently.[8] But for those who do develop panic disorder, what’s the difference from the occasional panic spell?
The distinction lies in three details:
For people diagnosed with PTSD, OCD, or Agoraphobia, panic attacks play a slightly different role. It’s best to talk with a qualified therapist or other mental health professional about this, since there are treatment implications for each.
For people who were raised to not cry, to laugh it off, or to sweep things aside, this is an opportunity to consider if those messages are serving you. We know that everyone can go through mental health struggles. This is not a failure of will or being weak. It’s not that simple.
It’s time to act when:
Consider how this worry and fear have affected your life. Do you recognize yourself? Do your loved ones? If you’re not sure, that might be a reason to make a change.
There is no shortage of articles, social media posts and stories with titles like “Stop a Panic Attack in Five Steps”. But studies examining thousands of people offer a clear picture of what works and what doesn’t.
If you’re early in this experience, try to challenge your urges to avoid. Tell yourself, “Screw it. I’m doing this thing because it’s important. Facing my fear helps take its power away.”
Manage your worries. Picture them as a treadmill running at high speed. You can choose to step onto it or off of it. Visualize your thoughts as a leaf floating down a stream. Worrying is a behaviour, which means that it’s a choice.
If you start to experience panic symptoms again, don’t fight them. Try to accept the physical sensations that are there. Fighting panic symptoms and diving down a rabbit hole of worry almost guarantees that symptoms will escalate. No one has ever died from a panic attack. Trust that you will be okay. Observe what happens.
Panic disorder and panic attacks are to be taken seriously. They can seriously disrupt our lives and compromise our quality of life. While they may feel like things we can’t control, overcoming them is totally possible. As you work toward ridding yourself of panic attacks and/or overcoming panic disorder, know that your efforts are worth it, and you are not alone in this.
Guest Author
Troy Gabrielson is a therapist in Los Angeles, California. He helps new fathers who are feeling crushed by worry, OCD, and insomnia re-engage in their lives. When he is not with clients, Troy is often running, reading, or spending time with wife and son. You can find his tips for fathers at The Good Men Project, or learn more about his practice.
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