Ukrainians have begun to suffer from unreasonable fear

Ukrainian doctors are increasingly diagnosing patients with "panic attacks". In their opinion, the basis of mental disorders of their compatriots is socio-economic instability.

Panic disorder is one of the most mysterious diseases of the nervous system. And one of the most common among Ukrainians, according to data from practicing psychiatrists and neurologists. Not so long ago, cases of panic disorder in the structure of neurologist's appointments were isolated, and today there are 7-8 of them per 10 patients."

And these figures are only for relatively successful patients who made it to a neurologist or psychotherapist at a private clinic. Others, if they don’t stay at home, turn to cardiologists, gastroenterologists, therapists, suspecting illnesses in various body systems. After all, panic attacks also manifest themselves in the form of headaches, abdominal and heart pain, arrhythmia, pressure surges, and suffocation.

In essence, a panic attack is a severe attack of anxiety, accompanied by somatic (i.e. physical) symptoms. Soviet doctors often diagnosed panic disorder as vegetative-vascular dystonia - an asymptomatic and incurable disease - and looked for the cause of the disease in internal, somatic factors. Ukrainian doctors of the new generation put mental problems caused by external factors in the foreground, the main one of which, according to doctors, is socio-economic instability.

Politicians, big business owners, top managers, as well as teachers and show business representatives often become victims of panic attacks. Panic disorder is promoted by chronic stress that accompanies making large-scale decisions, working as a teacher, and creative work. In addition, the fear of losing everything is experienced more by those who have more."

However, ordinary people are not immune to fear. A patient of the capital's largest psychiatric hospital named after Pavlov, Ruslan, worked as a recyclable materials receiver when he was overcome by his first panic attack.

In public transport and in other patients, attacks occur more often. One of the symptoms of panic attacks is precisely the fear of places or situations from which it is difficult or inconvenient to get out and in which help will not be provided.

Panic attacks are a reflection of fear of the future, experts believe. At the turn of the eras, during perestroika and the parade of independence, some saw new opportunities, while others believed that everything would return to normal.

In addition, people were nourished by the Soviet past. It was boring, but stable and predictable." The new generation is participating in a race for survival. Fear of being fired, losing a business, subsequent problems in the family, overload at work, sleepless nights are preparing the ground for panic attacks.

Contrary to statistics

According to the State Statistics Committee and the Center for Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Health, the number of patients with mental disorders is approximately 5% of the population.

Such low rates of mental illness, in his opinion, can also be linked to somatic manifestations of panic attacks: people turn to doctors of other specialties, and they are given an inaccurate diagnosis. "You can trace the true picture by taking medications. According to statistics on sales of antidepressants, Ukraine is in the middle of the top ten, it is second only to the USA and some European countries," says a neurologist, who was "confidentially" acquainted with these figures by a representative of a pharmaceutical company producing psychotropic drugs.

A link about panic attacks

At-risk groups

Panic attacks occur in approximately 10% of the population, with 1–3% of people experiencing severe symptoms.

Most often, panic attacks occur in people between the ages of 25 and 64, with some predominance in the 25–44 age group. Attacks that occur in older people usually have fewer symptoms, but the emotional components are usually more pronounced.

Numerous studies indicate a three- to four-fold predominance of women over men among those prone to panic attacks. The dominance of women in panic disorders is explained by both hormonal causes and the role that representatives of the weaker sex play in modern society.

At the same time, the lower representation of men may be associated with the transformation of anxiety disorders into alcoholism.

Anxiety!

Signs of a panic attack

Panic attacks are characterized by an intense feeling of fear, panic, or anxiety and/or a feeling of inner tension, combined with four or more of the following symptoms associated with panic:

• heartbeat, increased pulse
• sweating
• chills, tremors, a feeling of internal trembling
• feeling of shortness of breath, dyspnea
• choking or difficulty breathing
• pain or discomfort in the left side of the chest
• nausea or discomfort in the abdominal area
• a feeling of dizziness, unsteadiness, lightheadedness, or faintness
• a feeling of unreality of what is happening, depersonalization (detachment from one's own "I")
• fear of going crazy or doing something uncontrollable
• fear of death
• a feeling of numbness or tingling in the limbs
• insomnia
• confusion of thoughts