Crowds have never been a problem before and neither has speaking up in front of a large room of people, but all of a sudden it seems to send you into a nervous fit of shaking, sweating, increased heart rate and feeling nauseous. The room swirls and it feels like fainting is the next thing that is going to happen. What is this? What has caused the individual to experience one or more of these symptoms?

What this sounds like is a panic attack. Some people may have always experienced panic attacks in certain situations and others may never have had them until it suddenly springs on them out of nowhere. There are many reasons for a person going through a panic attack and all depend on the person who is having them. It could be that some repressed past history has been triggered in the subconscious and has led to the panic attack, the memory of a traumatic experience is triggered and the person can’t push the memory out of their head, or it could be caused by something that is not as easily recognized. A panic attack is something that comes around when someone feels threatened by something and feels as though they are going to come to serious harm if they follow through with something, such as getting into a car after having been through a serious car accident a few months before. Many of the symptoms associated with panic attacks consist of shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, nausea, shaking, increased heart rate and even physical pain in the form of headaches. All these symptoms are caused by the mind in the attempt to avoid danger that can cause serious harm to the individual. It comes from the natural instinct of survival. Fear, which is really the root cause of panic attacks, is a natural instinctual emotion that is triggered when the individual senses they are in a dangerous situation that they need to get out of immediately. Unfortunately, many people can have their fear get out of hand and this is what can result in panic attacks.

Regardless of the cause, a therapist can work with the patient to suffer less or no panic attacks in the future. In fact, there is online therapy available for people who suffer panic attacks that prevent them from leaving their home, or even if the patient wishes to remain in a comfortable environment while they work through their issues. While communicating with the online counselor or therapist, the counselor can work with the patient to determine what might be the underlying cause of the panic attacks. Once the cause is determined, further therapy can help the patient deal with those issues in the hopes that future panic attacks will be avoided. There are cases where medicinal treatment might be necessary when working with the patient and this is also possible to get when consulting an online therapist. Online therapy is normal therapy; the difference is that the patient can communicate with their therapist on their computer. Many individuals who have sought help from an online counselor have been successfully treated and continue to live happier and less stressful lives as a result.