People often ask how long do anxiety attacks last. Truthfully, there is no exact answer. How long they last totally depends on how better equipped one is in dealing with the anxiety for there are so many factors that are at play. Others deal with it quickly, while some may take longer.
Anxiety may be manifested by sudden outbursts that last for a few seconds to several minutes. But it may feel longer to those who are going through it. There are those episodes, too, that may persist for several hours to days at a stretch. In these cases, the patients feel very scared, nervous, and shocked. As for anxiety disorders, they can last for several distressing months to several years. However, if left untreated, it may persist for a lifetime.
Being the most common symptom of physical and mental disorders, anxiety attacks have less to do with the timing of the occurrence. It can happen before the person’s experience of the unpleasant emotional situation, continue on after the experience, or even be triggered without an exact stimulus.
Even physicians have no exact data as to how long anxiety attacks last. In General Anxiety Disorders (GAD), the occurrence may begin in childhood or adolescence or may occur at any age. As the threat of this anxiety is on a per-situation basis like work-related stress, family problems and financial difficulties, persons with GAD may experience the symptom at any time the problems arise and may continue up until the problem is resolved.
For people with Panic Attacks or Panic Disorders, symptoms happen in spontaneous attacks that are usually triggered by a physical encounter, for example, a person may experience panic attack while he is in an elevator because he fears confined spaces. It may last until the person is removed from the cause of the anxiety.
In Phobic Disorders, anxiety is experienced even before the situation or the physical threat is encountered. It may gradually disappear with proper treatment over the years, particularly with exposure therapy.
In Acute Stress Disorders, anxiety may last until the time the patient is disassociated from the cause of the trauma, preferably guided by a psychotherapist. In Post-traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), clinical treatment may only lessen the gravity of the anxiety but rarely disappears. It may start several months after the encounter of the traumatic event or may endure for several years even with professional guidance.
It is important that everyone be reminded that things may come differently to everyone. Do not be worried if your anxieties last 7 times longer than the others. It does not mean that your case is far worse and that there is no hope for recovery. There is. You just have to be patient and work really hard together with your therapist so that you can successfully overcome these attacks.
