For many, panic attacks and anxiety attacks may seem almost the same, but there are several differences between them, from their causes to their intensity and frequency.
Therefore, it is important to know how to differentiate them to define the best course of action, help the doctor with a faster diagnosis and find the most appropriate type of treatment. Differences between anxiety and panic attack can vary in intensity, duration, causes, and presence or absence of agoraphobia:
Maximum intensity of 10 minutes
Duration
For six months or more.
20 to 30 minutes
Below, we better describe the main characteristics of each of these disorders, to make it easier to understand each of them.
Anxiety is characterized by persistent and difficult-to-control excess anxiety, a concern that has been present in a person’s daily life for at least 6 months or more, and is accompanied by physical and psychological symptoms such as:
Muitas vezes também pode ser confundida com os sintomas de depressão, porém diferente da depressão, a ansiedade é focada principalmente na preocupação excessiva com eventos futuros.
Learn more about anxiety symptoms
To try to understand if it is an anxiety disorder, it is important to look for a psychologist or psychiatrist who, after assessing the symptoms and certain facts of life, can confirm a possible diagnosis and better determine the treatment to follow.
Geralmente o diagnóstico é confirmado quando existe preocupação excessiva há pelo menos 6 meses, juntamente com a presença de sintomas como inquietação, sensação de estar no limite, cansaço, dificuldade de concentração, irritabilidade, tensão muscular e, distúrbios do sono.
Para o tratamento do transtorno de ansiedade é aconselhado acompanhamento com psicólogo para sessões de terapia, pois irá ajudar a pessoa a lidar melhor com algumas situações do dia a dia, como controlar o pessimismo, aumentar a tolerância e fortalecer a auto-confiança, por exemplo. Caso seja necessário, juntamente com as sessões de terapia, o médico poderá ainda indicar o tratamento com a medicação, que deverá ser sempre orientado por um psiquiatra.
Outras abordagens, como técnicas de relaxamento, prática de exercício físico regular, orientação e aconselhamento, também são importantes para ajudar no tratamento. Veja quais as opções de tratamento mais usadas para tratar a ansiedade.
Panic disorder is considered when the person has recurrent panic attacks, which are sudden and intense episodes of fear that result in a series of sudden-starting physical reactions, including:
A panic attack can be mistaken for a heart attack, but in the case of a heart attack, there is oppressive pain in the heart that spreads to the left side of the body and worsens over time., the pain is acrid type located in the chest, with tingling and improvement in a few minutes, in addition its intensity is 10 minutes, and the attack can last from 20 to 30 minutes, maximum.
It is very common in these cases, the development of agoraphobia, which is a type of psychological disorder where the person, for fear of suffering an attack, avoids situations where fast help is not available or places where it is not possible to leave.quickly, such as a bus, planes, cinema, meetings, among others.For this reason, it is common for the person to be more isolated at home, with absences from work or even at social events.
Learn a little more about panic attack, what to do, and how to avoid it.
To confirm whether it is a panic disorder, or even if the person has had a panic attack, the help of a psychologist or psychiatrist is needed; often the person seeks help when he realizes that he can no longer leave the house alone for fear of a panic attack.
In this case, the doctor will make the diagnosis based on a report written by the person, trying to differentiate him from other physical or psychological diseases, it is very common for people with panic disorder to report such episodes in detail.which shows how dramatic the event is to the point of maintaining such a vivid memory.
Treatment of panic disorder is essentially the combination of therapy sessions with medication use.Currently, the most commonly used medications are antidepressants and, in most cases, symptoms improve significantly during the first few weeks of treatment.