Q: I would like to know what panic attacks are because I may be experiencing them.

Sometimes, I feel terribly stressed out and want to shout out loud. At other times, I feel breathless for a few seconds but my brain will be blank and I need to take a break from whatever I'm doing.

Sometimes, I also get a pain in my stomach which lasts a while.

All this makes me feel very anxious and I keep worrying that I will have these attacks again.

This is affecting my life. I seldom go out and when I do, I don't dare to be alone. I only feel secure at home.
I also get diarrhoea and stomach pains easily.

A: Yes, you could be suffering from panic attacks. A panic attack is described as a period of intense fear, characterised by a constellation of symptoms that develop rapidly and generally lasts for 10 to 20 minutes.

Most of the time, there is no trigger and they occur spontaneously. Symptoms associated with panic attacks include palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, a choking feeling, chest pains, nausea or abdominal stress, dizziness, fear of losing control or becoming crazy, fear of dying, numbness, chills and hot flushes.

You may not exhibit all symptoms to have a panic attack. Anxiety and nervousness can also cause diarrhoea and stomach pains.

You also say that it is affecting your life and you are worried about getting a new attack. This is called a panic disorder.

People with panic disorders do have recurrent panic attacks (which are not related to any substance misuse, medical condition or another psychiatric disorder) and they have a persistent worry of getting a new attack. This leads to behavioural changes, like avoiding places where earlier attacks took place.

You may want to seek help for your problem. To be sure that you are suffering from a panic disorder, it is important to exclude other medical reasons with simple blood tests and/or physical examinations and investigations.

After it is clear that there is no physical medical reason (which can sometimes mimic a panic disorder) for the symptoms, treatment can be given with specific types of medicine and psychotherapy. Both have proved to be effective for most who suffer from panic disorders.

Dr Birit Broekman

Dr Birit Broekman is an adjunct assistant professor at the department of psychological medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Hospital.

Got a problem? E-mail your question to sthealth@sph.com.sg. Include your name, NRIC, and contact details.

This story was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times, on Aug 28, 2008.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.