July 2005 Archives

Can Smoking Cause Panic Attacks?
by Chris T. Crawley

Can smoking cause panic attacks is of course a very difficult question, but some studies suggest that there’s a chance that smokers are three times more likely to suffer from panic disorder or panic attacks than those that do not smoke.

Recent research pointed out the fact that smoking will not only impact humans physically but will also bring a mental impact by showing adverse effects when dealing with individuals suffering from mental illness.

There are several symptoms with panic attacks, like trembling, fear of dying, heart palpitations, choking, sweating, flushes or chills, chest pain and dizziness among others.

If one suffers from constant panic attack symptoms or fears them constantly he or she can end up having a panic disorder. In these kind of situations smoking can play a significant role even though it may not be directly linked with the person’s condition.

Generally smoking has been shown to increase the risk of an individual who suffers from panic attacks. The risk of a first time panic attack is lower for those who quit smoking although studies are not sure whether risk is lower for regular smokers who quit smoking.

People that smoke should quit now as tobacco induces panic attacks in the case of susceptible individuals. Nicotine shows an interesting effect on the human brain as it stimulates it and causes all sorts of feelings.

An individual’s body might think it is suffocating because panic attacks act as false alarms and this means carbon monoxide can also trigger such episodes in people that are prone to overreacting. As you might now, this ingredient is exhaled when smoking.

Smoking also increases stress and during panic attacks the body is actually responding violently to stress factors in some situations. Just think about it! After smoking you do not feel calmer although this is what a lot of people tend to think.

Breathing and relaxation techniques are very important in the treatment solutions we have for anxiety disorders and smoking actually increases the chest breathing for individuals prone to such problems.

All this makes it more difficult to learn the right breathing techniques to control panic attacks and this will add to the suffering of person having an anxiety attack. In that way smoking does have a direct negative link with panic attacks when dealing with ways to get rid of those anxiety attacks and not just prevent them.

Is It True That Smoking Causes Panic Attacks? Find that and other articles on how to Solve Panic Attacks You can get a unique content version of this article.

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