How To Spot A Fake Panic Attack

What Teachers Can Do

Students with anxiety disorders may have difficulty completing classwork and homework, which can cause panic attacks and possibly lead to panic disorder.

Teachers can help ease anxiety levels by:

• keeping communications open with the student, parents or guardians, and school counselors and trying to identify triggers that may cause panic attacks
• providing a safe place and a cue system in which the student signals the teacher that a panic attack might be coming and the student needs to take a time-out
• adjusting the amount of classwork and homework
• encouraging the entire class to use relaxation techniques throughout the day
• encouraging students to exercise regularly, which can help reduce feelings of anxiety in patients with panic disorder

Students with panic attacks or panic disorder need encouragement and, sometimes, just someone to listen. A flexible and supportive environment will help improve your student’s class participation and encourage the student to develop coping skills.

What Causes Panic Attacks

Most people who struggle with panic want very much to know what causes panic attacks. There are really two questions here, and I will answer them both in this article.

The first one is what causes an individual anxiety attack. This is very important because once you know how panic attacks work, you will be in a good position to free yourself from panic attacks.

The second version of this question has a very different meaning. When people ask “what causes panic attacks?”, they often don’t mean an individual attack. They want to know “why” they have this problem. They frequently ask themselves the “Why?” question, especially when they are having a panic attack.

Drug Cutting & Illicit Xanax

When sold on the streets, Xanax can be identified by various slang terms, such as Xannies, Bars, Z-Bars, Zanbars, Xanbars, Handlebars, Planks, or Bricks, among others. The drug is typically sold as pills or tablets but can also be injected. People abuse Xanax for its relaxing qualities that cause sensations of calmness and euphoria.

Medical professionals warn that it is dangerous to buy Xanax online or from distributors other than licensed pharmacies. Products sold by such vendors often contain dangerous ingredients that are not monitored by the Food and Drug Administration. Many people end up in the emergency room or suffer fatal consequences for consuming Xanax that has been laced with products unbeknownst to them.

Another danger of buying Xanax illicitly is that it is sold in highly potent variations. Health care professionals have worked with teenagers who have bought Xanax bars on the streets at much higher doses than what a doctor would prescribe. Various versions of the drug that are commonly cut with other substances are often marketed online as research chemicals and can be purchased by anyone. Mixing even small amounts of alcohol with such drugs, as many people using Xanax recreationally do, can be fatal.

Read Also: What Is Pristiq Good For

When Should You Call A Doctor Or Help Line If You Are Having A Panic Attack

For someone who may be experiencing their first panic attack, a call to the doctor’s office or 911 is warranted. The idea is to make sure that the cause of the person’s distress is not a heart attack, asthma problem, endocrine emergency, or other dangerous medical condition.

A medical professional is the only person who should make the diagnosis of panic attack. There is no such thing as a “wasted” visit to the doctor in this case. It is better to be told that the diagnosis is panic attack than to assume that someone is panicking and be proved wrong.

Almost everyone experiencing symptoms of a panic attack needs evaluation. Unless the person has a history of having panic attacks, is otherwise healthy, and is experiencing a typical attack, they must be evaluated promptly by a doctor. The level of evaluation depends on many factors. Err on the side of safety when deciding whether to go to a hospital’s emergency department.

Even for medical professionals, the diagnosis of a panic attack is known as a diagnosis of exclusion. This simply means that before the doctor can be comfortable with the diagnosis of panic attack, all other possible causes of the symptoms need to be considered and ruled out.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Heart Palpitations Or A Racing Heartbeat

Your heart may normally skip a beat every now and again when something makes you nervous or excited. But a racing heart or persistent heart palpitations are common signs that youâre dealing with more than just your run-of-the-mill nerves, says Stephens. If your heart feels like itâs going a mile a minute or beating out of your chest, then underlying anxiety may be to blame. Once you recognize this symptom, make an effort to slow down your breathing or, if you use it, take your anxiety medication to help ease the attack.

You May Like: Mayo Clinic Anxiety And Depression

Ask Yourself If Email Attachments Are Unsolicited Or Unexpected

A good rule of thumb when it comes to email attachments is to ask yourself: Did I request this information? Frequently, cybercriminals will send emails with phony attachments to get you to inadvertently download their malicious executables. These attachments could come in many forms, including:

• Invoice documents
• Pricing sheets
• Spreadsheets

Check out the following examples of phishing emails one of my colleagues received. These unsolicited emails contain Word docs and other attachments:

In this example, Outlook was able to easily identify the attachment as a suspicious or unsafe file. However, thats not always the case and many times malicious attachments pass through email filters.

Document-based malware like this has become relatively common. This is because Microsoft and Adobe added the ability for Word docs and PDFs to work like executables via scripting and macros. Sophos shares some additional concerns:

Some document-based malware types have the ability to spread to other documents on an infected system. Once there, any legitimate document a user sends to friends and colleagues could end up spreading the malware.

When in doubt about whether an email or its attachment is fake or legitimate, reach out to the sender directly. Preferably, call them via phone using a number thats listed on an official source such as a company contact directory. Never use the contact information thats listed in a questionable email!

How To Stop A Panic Attack When You Feel It Coming On

During this unprecedented time of uncertainty and stress, between financial concerns, cabin fever, and the ongoing threat of a potentially dangerous virus, its perfectly normal if you find yourself dealing with increased levels of anxiety. When anxiety seems to overwhelm suddenly, like a tidal wave, we typically refer to it as a panic attack.

How can you tell if what youre feeling is a panic attack, and what are some ways you can stop it if you feel an attack coming on?

Recommended Reading: What’s The Phobia Of Long Words

Why Cybercriminals Send Fake Emails

Scammers are becoming smarter and more innovative with their email phishing techniques that even the most vigilant people become victims of email phishing scams.

Phishing emails are sent to:

• Create a sense of urgency to get victims to engage with them.
• Deliver malware to the victims computer via attachments or links.
• Redirect victims to a malicious website or a website that looks the replica of a legit companys website.
• Trick recipients into sharing their login credentials, financial, or other sensitive information.

Needless to say, its high time that you and your employees learn how to spot a fake email in order to protect yourself and your organization from email phishing scams.

Pay Attention: Dont Ignore Unusual Spelling And Grammatical Errors

If an email contains many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors, its a red flag. Legit companies follow strict email etiquette and editorial standards. Although some small typos can happen on occasion, its uncommon to see multiple mistakes in a single message. Never ignore such errors.

See the example below that highlights several examples of how to tell if an email is fake. Although you can spot that the email is fake from the senders unusual email address, there are other red flags, too. Check out the spelling and punctuation errors . A reputable company like Apple doesnt send an email with so many glaring errors.

You May Like: What Is A Phobia Of Spoons Called

Focus On Something Else

After a panic attack, your personal thoughts and energy may be overly focused on your anxiety and other symptoms. Instead of feeding your anxiety with more attention or worry, try to concentrate on something that brings you some happiness or a sense of peace.

For example, you may find it helpful to bring your awareness to something fun you plan on doing in the future or to joyful times from your past. If possible, try taking a walk in the fresh air or engage in an activity you enjoy to help clear your mind.

Some distraction techniques that can be effective include counting breaths, watching television, reading a book, meditating, or a creative hobby.

The Website Carries A Disclaimer

Above-board satirical websites like The Onion tell you they’re peddling satire. Less-honest sites sometimes issue confusing disclaimers. NewsBuzzDaily, for example, writes on every page that it contains both “real shocking news” and “satire news,” then adds, “Please note that articles written on this site are for entertainment and satirical purposes only.” So is it all satire or only partial satire? And if partial, which stories are true?

Even worse, though, is The Stately Harold. Readers should suspect the site is fake it features a simplistic, campy home page and misspells “Herald” as “Harold.” It defends itself by saying its site carries a disclaimer, and it does. “This is Satire!” is printed at the bottom of every page. But those words lie hidden within a black box on the bottom of the page that contains the copyright. The only way you can see them is if you highlight the copyright with your cursor. Well, who would think to do that?!

What’s the lesson here? If you’re not sure about a website’s legitimacy, search around to see if there’s any kind of disclaimer. If you find one, that likely means the site can’t be trusted, even if the disclaimer is worded confusingly. Legitimate sites don’t need disclaimers.

Read Also: What’s The Phobia Of Long Words

Research On Cardiovascular Death And Anxiety

A 2008 study investigated the risk of heart attacks, CHD, and cardiovascular death among people with panic attacks or PD. The study identified the following correlations:

• There was an increased incidence of heart attack among people below 50 years of age who had panic attacks or PD.
• There was an increased incidence of CHD among people of all ages who had panic attacks or PD.
• There was a decreased incidence of cardiovascular-related death among people of all ages who had panic attacks or PD.

The research did not find that panic attacks cause heart attacks and heart disease. It also did not prove that panic attacks protect a person from cardiovascular-related death the study only established a correlation between these factors.

A panic attack will not directly trigger a heart attack. However, a

The Website Has An Odd Domain Name

One of the easier ways to spot suspect stories is if they’re located on a news site with a strange domain name. Sometimes if a story originates on a site ending in “.ru” or “.co”, that’s a red flag. “.Ru” is used by the Russian federation, while “.co” is used by Colombia these two extensions are considered suspect.Other untrustworthy sites will try to imitate a reputable, well-known website by incorporating it into its own URL for example, using NBC as part of its URL: www.nbc-real-news.com. Another trick? Using nearly the same URL as a popular site, omitting a letter or two, or misspelling the name. Very long, complex domain names are another sign something might be amiss

Remember, too, that anyone can pay for any domain name they’d like. In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, for example, someone who was ticked at Republican candidate Carly Fiorina snagged the domain name “carlyfiorina.org.” The site illustrates, through frowny faces, the 30,000 people she laid off as head of Hewlett-Packard . This isn’t a story, of course. But if you read a story on, say, the evils of butter, and it’s on a site called “ilovebutter.org,” you should suspect something slippery is going on.

Also Check: What Does A Ptsd Flashback Look Like

The Story Is A Little Too Funny Or Interesting

The goal of posting fake news stories is to attract readers to your site. One way to do this is to run really compelling stories. We’re not talking serious, compelling stories, such as reports on ISIS’ latest forays or the current status of war refugees around the globe. We’re talking funny-compelling. Bizarre-compelling. The more eyebrow-raising a story is, the more people seem to want to read and share it, and other news outlets to reprint it. Those are the kinds of stories fake sites thrive upon. So your antenna should go up if you read such a piece.

One example is the tale of a 13-year-old who swiped his dad’s , then purchased a boatload of video games and electronics plus two $1,000-per-hour hookers. His reason for securing the latter? He wanted some people to play the video game “Halo” with him and his buddies. The police caught up with the 13-year-old when the prostitutes were still with him, the story said. The women told police they thought something was odd when the boys spurned their normal, um, business arrangement, saying they were midgets from a traveling circus merely seeking companionship.

Plausible? Barely. Yet this story was widely disseminated before it was revealed to be a ruse on the part of an Internet marketer trying to get some quick hits to his site. He left the story up, but added a disclaimer that it was merely satire .

Find Some Private Space To Normalize With This Posture

While you shouldnt, say, bolt from the company meeting if youre having a panic attack, you may want take a break in a quiet place where you can sit.

When you feel one coming on, if possible, try and go to your nearest bathroom or a private conference room, then, lower your head until it’s almost between your knees and focus on taking slow, deep breaths, says Wright. You may be able to self-regulate and de-escalate the panic attack by doing this. If you can’t go somewhere private and this happens in a meeting, pretend you have to lean down to tie your shoe or accidentally drop your phone on the ground and stay down until you feel yourself normalizing.

Don’t Miss: Which Phobia Means You Have An Intense Fear Of Halloween

Other Stories From This Source Are Incredulous

Our list of fake websites was by no means exhaustive, and new ones open up every week. So how can you tell if a site is reliable if it’s not on any list of fake websites? One way is to do a quick scan of some of the headlines and first few paragraphs of other stories on the site.

Let’s say you’re interested in a story with the headline, “President Obama Suffers Heart Attack.” That certainly sounds plausible. But if some of the other headlines on the site read “Grandmother Mates with Croc,””9-Year-Old Accidentally Discovers Cure for Cancer” and “Sky Over Oklahoma City Actually Rains Cats and Dogs,” you should be wary.

Of course, the other headlines may not be quite that fantastical. Still, if you take a good look at the other stories, you’ll get a sense of the seriousness of the publication, which is a good indication of its integrity. Are there are lot of articles about sex or celebrities? Do you see photos of scantily clad women or people with enormous body parts? Are there dubious-sounding stories about women needing to do more housework to avoid obesity, or about how eating a box of chocolates daily will actually lower your cholesterol? If so, beware.

Facebook is another place where dubious stories get shared or promoted. So look twice at the site they came from before hitting the “share” button.

What Are Causes And Triggers Of Panic Attacks

As with most behavioral illnesses, the causes of panic attacks are many. Certainly there is evidence that the tendency to have panic attacks can sometimes be inherited. However, there is also evidence that panic may be a learned response and that the attacks can be initiated in otherwise healthy people simply given the right set of circumstances. Research into the causes of panic attacks is ongoing.

Panic disorder is a separate but related diagnosis to panic attacks. People experiencing repeated panic attacks and who meet other diagnostic criteria may be diagnosed with this illness. Panic disorder is thought to have more of an inherited component than panic attacks that are not a part of panic disorder. Certain medical conditions, like asthma and heart disease, as well as certain medications, like steroids and some asthma medications, can cause anxiety attacks as a symptom or side effect. As individuals with panic disorder are at higher risk of having a heart-valve abnormality called mitral valve prolapse , that should be evaluated by a doctor since MVP may indicate that specific precautions be taken when the person is treated for a dental problem.

Research is inconsistent as to whether nutritional deficiencies may be risk factors for panic disorder. While food additives like aspartame, alone or in combination with food dyes, are suspected to play a role in the development of panic attacks in some people, it has not been confirmed by research so far.

Also Check: What Is A Depression On A Topographic Map