Get Panic Away Review PDF eBook Book Free Download | Page 14

Chapter 2
Myths and Misinterpretations
“Am I going crazy?”
It is understandable for anyone to fear they may be going crazy when they
suffer from initial panic attacks. There is so little real public awareness of mental
disease, so people often jump to extreme conclusions. These conclusions are
usually based on misinformation and an overactive imagination.
The most commonly known mental health issue is schizophrenia—even the word
itself strikes terror within the average person.
Schizophrenia is a major disorder characterized by such severe symptoms as
disjointed thoughts and speech, babbling, having delusions or strange beliefs
(for example, sufferers often claim they are receiving messages from an inner
voice), and hallucinations. Furthermore, schizophrenia appears to be largely a
genetic disorder and run strongly in families.
Schizophrenia generally begins very gradually, and not suddenly (such as during
a panic attack). Additionally, because it runs in families, only a certain
proportion of people can become schizophrenic, and in other people, no amount
of stress will cause the disorder. A third important point is that people who
become schizophrenic will usually show some mild symptoms for most of their
lives (such as unusual thoughts, flowery speech, etc.). Thus, if this has not been
noticed in you yet, then chances are you will not become schizophrenic. This is
especially true if you are over 25, since schizophrenia generally first appears in
the late teens to early 20's.
14