“What happens if a panic attack goes untreated?”
I have panic attacks. What happens if a panic attack goes untreated?
3 Answers
When panic attacks go untreated, they can lead to a variety of complications and effects on your life and well-being. It's important to consider these potential outcomes to understand the importance of seeking treatment and support:
Increased Frequency and Severity of Panic Attacks: Without treatment, panic attacks may become more frequent and severe over time. This can lead to an escalation in the intensity of symptoms experienced during an attack.
Development of Panic Disorder: Repeated panic attacks can lead to the development of panic disorder, a condition characterized by frequent panic attacks and constant fear of having another attack. This fear itself can become debilitating.
Avoidance Behaviors: Individuals may start to avoid places, situations, or activities that they associate with panic attacks. This avoidance behavior can lead to agoraphobia, a condition in which people fear and avoid places that might cause them to panic or feel trapped, embarrassed, or helpless.
Impact on Quality of Life: Untreated panic attacks can significantly impact your quality of life. They can disrupt your daily activities, work, relationships, and social life. The constant fear of having a panic attack can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.
Physical Health Risks: Although panic attacks themselves are not life-threatening, the stress and anxiety associated with them can contribute to physical health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and other stress-related conditions.
Depression and Other Mental Health Issues: The stress and isolation that can result from untreated panic attacks may lead to depression, anxiety disorders, and other mental health issues.
Substance Use: Some people may turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to self-medicate and alleviate the symptoms of panic attacks. This can lead to substance abuse and dependence.
Increased Frequency and Severity of Panic Attacks: Without treatment, panic attacks may become more frequent and severe over time. This can lead to an escalation in the intensity of symptoms experienced during an attack.
Development of Panic Disorder: Repeated panic attacks can lead to the development of panic disorder, a condition characterized by frequent panic attacks and constant fear of having another attack. This fear itself can become debilitating.
Avoidance Behaviors: Individuals may start to avoid places, situations, or activities that they associate with panic attacks. This avoidance behavior can lead to agoraphobia, a condition in which people fear and avoid places that might cause them to panic or feel trapped, embarrassed, or helpless.
Impact on Quality of Life: Untreated panic attacks can significantly impact your quality of life. They can disrupt your daily activities, work, relationships, and social life. The constant fear of having a panic attack can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression.
Physical Health Risks: Although panic attacks themselves are not life-threatening, the stress and anxiety associated with them can contribute to physical health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and other stress-related conditions.
Depression and Other Mental Health Issues: The stress and isolation that can result from untreated panic attacks may lead to depression, anxiety disorders, and other mental health issues.
Substance Use: Some people may turn to alcohol or drugs as a way to self-medicate and alleviate the symptoms of panic attacks. This can lead to substance abuse and dependence.
It can keep occurring
A panic attack by definition has a beginning, middle and end; typically, it runs its course, whether or not the person suffering from it receives any immediate treatment. For people who are suffering a panic attack, it can feel like the most dire emergency imaginable, as if the person is literally about to die; that is why so many panic sufferers end up in the Emergency Room. Typically, though, once a heart attack or asthma attack has been ruled out, not much actual treatment happens there, other than reassurance, until the panic storm has passed, and the person is released, often after only a few hours, with a recommendation to seek therapeutic help.
Repeated panic attacks may amount to a panic disorder, which if it goes untreated can have significant major negative effects on a person's emotional, work, social and family life. The sufferer starts fearing that if they go out, they may suffer another attack; they start restricting their activities, avoiding work, social engagements, even shopping. This is termed "agoraphobia", which is borrowed from the Greek, meaning "fear (phobia) of the market (agora).
Naturally these kinds of restrictions are at the very least inconvenient for family, friends, and employers, and can lead to friction, resentment, conflict. The panic sufferer may feel guilty about their increased dependence and decreased capabilities and contributions to family and workplace, and a growing sense of isolation and discouragement. A persistent and untreated panic disorder thus may lead to depression.
The good news is that panic disorder is highly treatable, usually with a combination of medication and psychotherapy. There is no good reason to tough it out and suffer in silence, or alone, when effective help is available.
Repeated panic attacks may amount to a panic disorder, which if it goes untreated can have significant major negative effects on a person's emotional, work, social and family life. The sufferer starts fearing that if they go out, they may suffer another attack; they start restricting their activities, avoiding work, social engagements, even shopping. This is termed "agoraphobia", which is borrowed from the Greek, meaning "fear (phobia) of the market (agora).
Naturally these kinds of restrictions are at the very least inconvenient for family, friends, and employers, and can lead to friction, resentment, conflict. The panic sufferer may feel guilty about their increased dependence and decreased capabilities and contributions to family and workplace, and a growing sense of isolation and discouragement. A persistent and untreated panic disorder thus may lead to depression.
The good news is that panic disorder is highly treatable, usually with a combination of medication and psychotherapy. There is no good reason to tough it out and suffer in silence, or alone, when effective help is available.
