Panic Disorder During Menopause

If there is any symptom of menopause, which can become genuinely unbearable; it is panic disorder. A menopausal woman might notice that her heart is beating faster, breathing is quickening, and sweat is dropping from the eyebrow for no obvious trigger. These are the symptoms of panic disorder. This anxiety disorder is the most common type of psychological disorder that involves sudden and recurrent episodes of deep fear along with the physical symptoms like chest pain, palpitations, or dizziness.

Such episodes are known as panic attacks that might make you feel like a heart attack. So, panic disorder strikes at any time without any reason due to thoughts or events. Let me tell you that these attacks are so horrifying that victims will never go to that place again where they got the attack. As per a study, 6 million American adults experience such attacks and that the chances are double to happen in women than men. Luckily, panic disorder can be alleviated or treated for which you need to know its symptoms, causes, and treatment. So, continue reading.

• Symptoms As you get familiar with the common symptoms of panic disorder, you can easily diagnose panic disorder. Some of these crest and then disperse within 10 minutes from the arrival of the attack, while some might last for a reasonable period of time. Listed below are the common symptoms.
• Choking, chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Shallow breathing
• Tingling in fingers
• Hot flashes
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Trembling
• Sweating
• Tearful as if you will go mad or will die
• Feeling of terror
• Nervousness
• Stress
• Fear
• Anxiety
• Palpitations
• Feeling of dread
 
• CausesFor the affected woman, it is not easy to find out the accurate cause of panic disorder, as there are a myriad of responsible factors such as emotional and physical problems and shocking events. Above all, the declining levels of estrogen and progesterone are the main underlying causes, which badly impact the mood.
  
  Estrogen impacts the stress-hormone cortisol whose level rise on the drop of the hormone leading to high blood pressure and blood sugar ultimately resulting in panic disorder. Further, even the brain chemical called serotonin responsible for happy moods is affected. This ensures unstable mood leading to panic. Progesterone has its own role to play in calming the brain and so, its low levels also add to or cause panic disorder.
  
  There are still other causes of panic disorder that are related to lifestyle or stressful events. Avoid taking caffeine because it contains dopamine that is a chemical leading to jitters making the panic more aggravating. Even alcohol increases mood-affecting chemicals in the blood and impacts the nervous system. Other risk factors of panic disorder include genetics, brain chemistry including traumatic psychological events, environmental factors such as stressful work schedule and bad sleeping patterns, poor nutrition (sugars and fats), and changing roles of a woman.
 
• TreatmentsIn order to treat panic disorder, one must seek for such options that eradicate the root cause of the symptom without any risky side effects. So, the best and most preferred approach is to start with lifestyle changes and then combining them with alternative medicines. If even after this, nothing works effectively; then go for drugs or surgery to mitigate the symptoms of panic disorder.
  
  Lifestyle changes do not offer any risk and involves eating healthy diet high with proper nutrients, exercising regularly and properly, and sleeping for seven to eight hours a night. Alternative medicines tend to bring back the balance of hormonal levels via herbs, vitamins, and therapies like massage, acupuncture, and aromatherapy.
  
  Only when a woman suffers from severe panic disorder, the third option of drugs or surgery for relief should be adopted after consulting a healthcare professional, as they have unkind side effects.