What are Panic attacks ?

Panic attacks are sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, fear and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms.

Many who suffer from panic attacks state they are the most frightening experiences of their lives. Sufferers of panic attacks report a fear or sense of dying, "going crazy", and/ or experiencing a heart attack, feeling faint, nauseous, or losing control of themselves. These feelings may provoke a strong urge to escape or flee the place where the attack began (a consequence of the sympathetic "fight or flight" response).A panic attack is a response of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The most common symptoms may include: trembling, dyspnea (shortness of breath), heart palpitations, chest pain (or chest tightness), sweating, nausea, dizziness (or slight vertigo), light-headedness, hyperventilation, paresthesias (tingling sensations), sensations of choking or smothering or derealization, or the feeling that nothing is real. These physical symptoms are interpreted with alarm in people prone to panic attacks. This results in increased anxiety, and forms a positive feedback loop.

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder which primarily consists of the fear of experiencing a difficult or embarrassing situation from which the sufferer cannot escape. As a result, severe sufferers of agoraphobia may become confined to their homes, experiencing difficulty traveling from this "safe place". 

Panic disorder is different from the normal fear and anxiety reactions to stressful events in our lives. Panic disorder is a serious condition that strikes without reason or warning. Symptoms of panic disorder include sudden attacks of fear and nervousness, as well as physical symptoms such as sweating and a racing heart. During a panic attack, the fear response is out of proportion for the situation, which often is not threatening. Over time, a person wiith panic disorder develops a constant fear of having another panic attack, which can affect daily functioning and general quality of life.Panic disorder often occurs along with other serious conditions, such as depression, alcoholism or drug abuse.

What Are the Symptoms of Panic Disorder?

Physical Symptoms
An extremely unpleasant sensation of adrenaline over the entire body 
Sweating 
Shortness of breath (dyspnea) 
Racing or pounding heartbeat or palpitations 
Chest pain 
Dizziness or vertigo 
Lightheadedness 
Nausea / stomach pains 
Hyperventilation 
Choking or smothering sensations 
Uncontrollable itching 
Tingling or numbness in the hands, face, feet or mouth (paresthesia) 
Hot/cold flashes 
Trembling or shaking 
Feeling of claustrophobia 
Exhaustion 
Feeling of physical weakness or limpness of the body. 
Uncontrollable crying

MentalSymptoms
Loss of the ability to react logically to stimuli 
Loss of cognitive ability in general 
Racing thoughts (often based on fear; a repeated or illogical worry) 
Loud internal dialogue 
Feeling of impending doom 
Feeling of "going crazy" 
Extreme worried feeling 
Feeling of extreme nervousness 
Feeling out of control

EmotionalSymptoms
Terror, or a sense that something unimaginably horrible is about to occur and one is powerless to prevent it 
Fear that the panic is a symptom of a serious illness 
Fear of losing control 
Fear of death 
Fear of going crazy 
Flashbacks to earlier panic trigger 
 
PerceptualSymptoms
Tunnel vision 
Heightened senses 
The apparent slowing down or speeding up of time 
Dream-like sensation or perceptual distortion (derealization) 
Dissociation, or the perception that one is not connected to the body or is disconnected from space and time (depersonalization)
 
MnemonicSymptoms
The symptoms of a panic attack can be remembered with the mnemonic: STUDENTS FEAR the 3 Cs: Sweating, Trembling, Unsteadiness/dizziness, Derealization/depersonalization, Elevated heart rate (tachycardia), Nausea, Tingling, Shortness of breath, FEAR of dying, FEAR of losing control, FEAR of going crazy, 3 Cs - Choking, Chest pain, Chills.

Triggers and Causes Of Panic Attacks
 
Main Cause of Panic Attacks : Life based on Untruths, Ignorance, Materialism, Wrong Conditioning Of Mind Since Childhood, Seeking Pleasures & Enjoyments Of Life, dependence On others, Too Much & false Desires & Ambitions, Inability to handle adverse situations in life,Excessive love for body, seeking security in others & outside rather than god, lack of true or selfless love in life.

Long-Term, Predisposing Causes- Heredity. Panic disorder has been found to run in families, and this may mean that inheritance genes plays a strong role in determining who will get it. However, many people who have no family history of the disorder develop it. Various twin studies where one identical twin has an anxiety disorder have
reported an incidence ranging from 31 to 88 percent of the other twin also having an anxiety disorder diagnosis. Environmental factors such as an overly cautious view of the world expressed by parents and cumulative stress over time have been found to be causes.

Biological Causes Generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, Wilson's Syndrome, mitral valve prolapse and inner ear disturbances (Labyrinthitis). Vitamin b deficiency from inadequate diet or caused by periodic depletion due to parasitic infection from Tape worm can be a trigger of anxiety attacks.