How Long Does a Panic Attack Last?

By Trevor Mosley

It is the question that has been hogging the minds of many people and even more so victims of panic attacks. This is one of the most commonly asked questions whenever someone sets out to research on panic attacks. Anxiety therapists are often inundated with this question as well. Just how long does a panic attack last?

1. No Definite Answer to the Question

The answer to this burning question is not as simple as we would like it to be. Each attack is as unique as the individual who experiences it. In mild cases, the duration of the panic attacks last only a couple of minutes. In more serious cases, and they can last up to hours. There are some victims who take measures to combat the symptoms, therefore curtailing the anxiety attacks.

2. The Answer is Very Much Dependent on the Person

Of course what all this translates to be the very simple logic that we are all different identities and would therefore exhibit either slightly varying symptoms or varying intensities of such symptoms if we were all suffering from panic attack. The reason why not everybody suffers from panic attack is because those who do not suffer from it are so well equipped that the disorder does not attack them. If you apply the same logic and combine it with the fact that the capacity to deal with panic attacks varies in different strengths across all people then you begin to get an idea of the answer to that question.

In essence, however long the panic attack lasts is dependent on the victim's capacity to fight it. To the victim, the experience often feels like eternity, even if it only lasted a couple of minutes in reality. It is imperative that the victim does not compare his episodes with fellow sufferers but to focus only his own.

3. Is the Condition or Disorder Long Term?

Some of you reading this article might have misinterpreted the question. When you hear the question; how long does a panic attack last? You think it's about how long the panic attack disorder itself lasts. How long a panic attack lasts is the time duration for a single panic attack. How long a panic attack disorder lasts is how long the victim continues to suffer from frequent panic attacks or the disorder itself.

How long the disorder itself lasts is similarly dependent on the victim. For some it could take a few weeks to a few months. For others it could take years. It has been noted that most victims of panic attacks are normally in their late teens or early twenties with women being twice as much as affected.

4. Finding a Cure

Instead of finding a solution on his own, a victim of anxiety attacks should always seek help from a certified professional. If left untreated, the disorder can worsen and become too overwhelming for one to live with it. How long does a panic attack last? You decide. - 32543

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here