Anguish crisis symptoms, causes and treatment

Feeling anxiety occasionally is normal and healthy, because it activates our body when it feels in danger, in the face of the adversities of our day to day. However, people suffering from an anxiety disorder tend to suffer excessive concerns and fears inexplicable for many of these normal adversities to which we face. Sometimes, these feelings of anxiety and fear sudden.

Imagine that a person is sitting in a hammock under the sun and without any apparent reason, his legs begin to tremble, his chest hurts, he verbalizes being afraid of dying or having a heart attack, he believes that he will faint, ... this person is suffering an anxiety attack, as many people from our environment suffer. For this reason, in this Psychology-online article, we will help you understand the anguish crisis: symptoms, causes and treatment.

The anguish crises, also known as panic attack, are part of the well -known anxiety disorders. These have received special attention from researchers and clinicians, due to the high increase in anxiety disorders in our society.

1. Anguish or anxiety crisis: definition
2. Symptoms of anguish or anxiety crises
3. Causes of anguish or anxiety crises
4. Treatment of anguish or anxiety crises

Anguish or anxiety crisis: definition

The anguish crisis is a Episode of acute anxiety of sudden appearance, Temporary and isolated from intense fear, excessive concern and high psychic and somatic discomfort, being able to produce from a relaxed state or in an anxiety. The panic attack reaches its maximum intensity in minutes, appearing in this period of time the symptomatology of the crisis. This manifestation produces a high discomfort and terror to the person.

It should be noted that the panic attack itself is not mental disorder. The anguish crisis can occur in the context of any mental disorder, anxiety disorders and in some medical conditions. In this case, the panic attack is used as a specifier of said disorder (for example: "Depressive disorder with panic attacks").

In order to be considered a panic disorder, a recurring and unexpected anguish crisis history must have manifested. In addition, it must appear, for at least one month, a persistent concern for the appearance of another attack or concern about the possible consequences or behavioral changes that it may produce.

Symptoms of anguish or anxiety crises

The DSM-V establishes that in order for four (or more) symptoms associated with its diagnosis to be considered a panic attack. Symptoms of anguish or anxiety crises are:

• Palpitations, heart pounding or heart rate acceleration.
• Sweating.
• Tremor or shaking.
• Feeling of difficulty breathing or suffocation.
• Drowning sensation.
• Pain or discomfort in the thorax.
• Nausea or abdominal discomfort.
• Feeling of dizziness, instability, stunning or fainting.
• Chills or heat sensation.
• Paresthesia: Numbness or tingling sensation.
• DESREATION: Sensation of unreality.
• Depersonalization: feeling of separating from oneself.
• Fear of losing control or "going crazy".
• Affraid to die.

This set of symptoms are the symptomatology that manifests during the panic or anxiety attack, however, the anguish crises also entail a continuous concern or concern in the day -to -day life of the person who suffers from the appearance of other attacks of panic or the consequences that they can produce, such as fear of losing control in the attack or suffering a heart attack during crises. Faced with these fears, they establish a set of Avitative behaviors, destined to avoid panic attacks, such as avoiding non -family situations or exercise.

Causes of anguish or anxiety crises

At present, the causality of panic attacks have not been empirically determined. However, there are certain factors that can influence the appearance of panic disorders, In the same way that they influence the appearance of healthy anxiety, such as:

• Genetic predisposition and family characteristics.
• Have greater sensitivity to stress and have a tendency to have negative emotions.
• A high level of stress.
• The belief system itself.

Another relevant issue is the causes unleashed from the anguish or anxiety crises. As previously mentioned, it is important to understand the difference between panic attacks and panic disorder. Since, according to the DSM-IV, for the correct diagnosis of panic attacks, it is very important to keep in mind the context that triggers that crisis. In panic disorder, the beginning of the attack must be unexpected and sudden, without the presence of an obvious trigger. The panic attack is not associated with a certain situational factor and there is excessive concern that it proceeds again or about the consequences of this.

On the other hand, if the panic attack occurs in the course of another mental disorder or another contextual trigger, The causes of the anguish or anxiety crises They can be diverse such as:

• The appearance of a determining stimulus produces the manifestation of the panic attack (for example: a person who has a phobia to fly and when climbing a plane suffers a panic attack).
• The attacks are more frequent in certain situations, although they are not completely associated with specific situations (for example: a person has social phobia and can manifest panic attacks in different social contexts such as cinema, shopping centers, ...).
• The appearance of a concrete stressful event (for example: the death of a relative).
• Medical substance or effects.

Treatment of anguish or anxiety crises

It has been empirically demonstrated that The most effective therapy for the treatment of panic attacks is cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, it is sometimes more effective if it is combined with pharmacotrypia, here you will find pharmacological treatment for panic attacks. Next, we explain how cognitive-behavioral therapy is structured for the treatment of panic attack:

1. Psychoeducation

The treatment of anguish or anxiety crises begins with psychoeducation. The psychologist explains to the patient how the organism works and how anguish crises are triggered. Psychoeducational component is very important because it allows the person to understand what anxiety and panic are.

2. Cognitive restructuring

The following technique in the treatment of anguish or anxiety crises is to restructure thoughts. The technique of cognitive restructuring, aims to help the person aware of the importance of beliefs in us, beliefs most of the times rooted from childhood, and that, when they are irrational, they "jump" in a form of automatic thoughts against any problematic stimulus and make us feel bad. It is these unreal beliefs or cognitive distortions that make us contemplate the reality in one way or another, and that is what will make that before the events that happen to us we react with some feelings or other. Thus, cognitive restructuring aims to help the person transform the irrational beliefs that cause suffering, for healthier and adaptive beliefs. ¿How these irrational beliefs are worked?

1. First, they must become aware, through Self -registros,. They write down the thoughts that the person has to make of the situation determined to work.
2. HE They analyze these thoughts To detect what irrational idea each of them corresponds. Normally, a person usually has 2-3 irrational beliefs that then come out in the form of automatic thoughts. Observing these thoughts, the main irrational ideas that the person possesses are taken out. It is also analyzed to what extent they affect him, they hurt him, making him draw erroneous and often painful conclusions and finally, The logic or lack of this that these beliefs are discussed and to what extent they can be replaced by others, more adapted to reality. It is the most important, longer phase and requires the help of a therapist.
3. Once irrational beliefs have been identified, alternative thoughts are chosen to the irrational, that is, arguments that are opposed to those who normally harm the person and that are logical and rational. It can be a very extensive phase, since you have to test arguments, reflecting on why they have not served some and polishing all until they have a more or less broad list of arguments that convince the person and that it can apply when It is wrong.
4. In the last phase, you have to carry out the rational arguments chosen. This implies an insistence, since the person is very accustomed to thinking illogically and the irrational arguments will jump automatically, without almost realizing. So that, it must be insisted again and again with the rational arguments.

3. Exposure

A fundamental part of the treatment of anguish or anxiety crises is exposure to external, internal or both stimuli (exposure to feared stimuli). Exhibition is a technique of cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety. It is effective in dealing with avoidance behaviors characteristics of anxiety and phobias. It is based on the repeated exposure of the person to the feared stimulus and aims to prevent the avoidance from becoming a security signal. So, the exposure technique is to make the person faces the feared object or situation, trying to avoid avoiding behaviors to them. This technique can be reproduced directly with the external stimulus, that is to say “in vivo” (for example: accompany the person to a place where there are many people, if they have social phobia) or in imagination, imagining the feared object, describing it, even adding smells if necessary, with the aim of making it as real as possible (for example: I imagine that I am inside a plane and that it will take off, if I am afraid of the planes).

The effectiveness of the exhibition has produced an important advance in the techniques used for its elaboration, the use of virtual reality for exposure treatment being very frequent.

The duration of the technique can be long (2h), this being the most effective option, since it allows the habituation of the person and not sensitization. The short duration (30 minutes), therefore, must be repeated and prolonged. On the other hand, it will also be more effective than the interval between sessions is as short as possible and block the attempt at escape or avoidance behaviors.

4. Anxiety management techniques

In the treatment of anguish or anxiety crises, anxiety management techniques, such as Diaphragmatic breathing or relaxation and training in coping skills.

As expected, exposure techniques, as well as cognitive restructuring or contact with the awareness of the disease, through psychoeducation, which is being suffered, produces that high levels of anxiety and concerns can appear in this regard. Faced with this, it is of special relevance that the psychotherapist offers tools to reduce anxiety, such as diaphragmatic breathing or relaxation techniques and that the person trains in coping skills so that he can handle anxiety exposure when the therapist is not present.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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