Symptoms and Causes Of Panic Attacks

  • Posted on January 29, 2009 at 6:05 am

Panic attack is not a disease but an intense fear or physiological distress. They are episodic in nature. The onset of a panic attack is usually sudden and lasts from ten minutes to thirty minutes.

The cause of a panic attack can be pharmacological or psychological. They are usually caused by the fear of something or phobias. Biological condition can also be the culprit sometimes.  Many times, the cause depends upon the person and his situation.

The symptoms for panic attack are usually the same even though the cause might be different. Some of the symptoms are tingling sensations, choked throat, shortness of breadth, trembling etc. Panic attacks are the most terrifying and distressing psychological episodes.

Fortunately, it is possible to treat panic attacks. Breathing exercises help a lot to overcome panic attacks. In severe cases, medication needs to be given to the patients for their well being.

Medication by itself cannot do the magic; the will power of the person to come out of the fearful circle of panic attacks is very important. You need to believe in yourself that you can do it, only then you will be able to come out of the dark tunnel of the panic attacks.

Source: Health Fun & Success

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Nintendo Video Game Caused Panic Attack

  • Posted on January 16, 2009 at 6:13 am

A five-year-old boy has suffered panic attack by playing Nintendo video game.

Nicolo, nine years old, loves his Nintendo video games.

“I especially like adventure games where you discover secrets and you battle people,” he said.

Nicolo says he’s never experienced any pain or physical illness while playing video games, aside from occasional sweaty fingers.

“They get a little sweaty, but not usually every time,” he said.

But that’s not the case for five-year-old Michael, a Carlsbad boy who ended up having a panic attack after playing Nintendo for just a half-hour.

“He then began to complain and cry, saying he was experiencing pain in his hand and that he wasn’t feeling well,” mother Isabelle Clingerman said.

“He began to scream and what he was experiencing was a type of motion sickness due to the game,” she said.

Neurologist James Grisolia says the frequency of the flashing lights is to blame. It’s a known fact in some children video games can cause migraine headaches, motion sickness and even epileptic seizures.

“There was an episode of ‘Pokemon’ in Japan some years ago that had a certain kink of stimulation in the TV show that sent 700 children to the emergency room with different symptoms,” Dr. Grisolia said.

The problem is so well documented, San Diego’s Epilepsy Foundation offers these tips for children playing video games:

- Take frequent breaks of 10 or 15 minutes,

- Don’t play when tired,

- Reduce the brightness of the screen, and

- Always play in a well-lit room.

While physical pain is relatively rare in kids who play video games, Dr. Grisolia has other concerns.

“The most important health effects from video games are obesity from not getting outside and playing, failing to socialize with other kids and getting exposed to a high level of violence in some of the more violent games,” he said.

Nintendo declined to comment for this report.

Source: CBS 8

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