Panic Disorder Treatment

The best thing about panic attacks and the ensuing panic disorder is that they both can be treated. PANIC ATTACKS TREATMENT or PANIC DISORDER TREATMENT with some self-help methods and occasionally therapy has proven to be quite successful in reducing PANIC DISORDER SYMPTOMS.

It is important that treatment is initiated soon after the first major panic attack as catching it early will keep it from spiraling out of control, which could lead the more complicated agoraphobia making recovery a long process and extremely difficult. The different methods of treating panic attacks and panic disorder are:

1. Self-Help

2. Therapy by a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Social Worker or an experienced Counselor,

a . Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
b. Exposure Therapy
c. Psychodynamic Therapy

3. Medication

These three methods of treatment offer the perfect answer to your three most troubling questions:

1. HOW TO HELP ANXIETY/

2. HOW TO DEAL WITH PANIC? and

3. HOW TO HELP DEPRESSION?

Self-Help Methods:

1. Educate yourself on your problem. You need to research and understand all your ANXIETY CAUSES and what exactly is ‘panic’ and all the symptoms that you are experiencing. Get onto online forums and discuss your symptoms with others who are experiencing similar attacks. This will help you understand your problem more clearly and also reassure you that you are not the only one who is suffering with this problem.

2. Avoid Nicotine and Caffeine. Cigarettes smoking and beverages with high caffeine content are known to increase the likelihood of panic attacks

3. Avoid vitamin supplements, diet-control pills, and medication prescribed for colds.

4. Breathing Exercises. You could try yoga or similar breathing exercises where you learn to observe your breath and to control your breathing. Breathing freely and deeply can reduce the most common symptom, hyperventilation, by allowing you to control your breathing and not feel a lack of control.There is, however, a school of thought that says that breathing exercises could worsen the symptoms. Proper breathing also is a form of NATURAL STRESS RELIEF.

5. Learn Relaxation Techniques. You can get NATURAL ANXIETY RELIEF and a CURE FOR DEPRESSION with several relaxation methods you could use like yoga and other meditation techniques to calm yourself down and reduce your feelings of anxiety and stress. They also tend to make you happier so dealing with every day stress is not so difficult any more and acts as an effective SOCIAL ANXIETY TREATMENT!

6. Enroll in Support Groups. Meeting people with similar problems can help you feel better about yourself. Most patients have this feeling that they are going crazy after they have experienced a panic attack. Talking to others who are faced with the same problem can help immensely in understanding that there is a CURE FOR ANXIETY and it is something that can be treated successfully.

CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy This form of therapy is by far the best method of treating panic attacks and disorder, and in severe cases, agoraphobia. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy analyses the patient’s thought and behavior patterns and tries to pinpoint the primary reasons that eventually lead to panic attacks.

It evaluates the very real fear experienced by patients in a realistic manner and makes the patient understand and manage his fear better. More than 70% of patients who have undergone Cognitive Behavioral Therapy report no recurrence of panic attacks, making it one of the best forms of treatment available for panic disorder. CBT has proven to be extremely beneficial to children.

Exposure or Interoceptive Therapy This is a bit more harsher form of therapy as it exposes the patient to similar sensations of the panic attack but in a safe space to teach the patient how to cope in the event of a recurrent attack. You may be asked over several sessions to simulate the symptoms of your panic attack.

As you get used to the same symptoms with no perceptible harm being done to your body, you will gradually lose the fear of getting such an attack again. This restores your self-confidence and makes you capable of once again dealing with your regular activities.

These are some of the symptoms you may be asked to simulate in each session and you may be asked to repeat them 5 to 10 times in a day:

1. Hyperventilating

2. Sitting in a chair and being spun to simulate the dizzy and disoriented feeling

3. Breathing through a straw and holding your breath to create sensation of breathing difficulty

4. Stationary jogging to make your pulse race and sweat Psychodynamic Therapy In this form of therapy, the focus lies in trying to bring out a patient’s underlying and unexpressed fantasies, fears, and conflicts that could be acting as the trigger for panic attacks.

Here the patient’s unvoiced angers, frustrations, and dependence issues are addressed. Once these are identified, an attempt is made to analyze these conflicts so the patient can confront and deal with them effectively. This also acts a kind of DEPRESSION THERAPY for dealing with DEPRESSION DISORDER.

Medication:

1. Anti-depressants are known to curb panic attacks and act as a DEPRESSION CURE. The most common MEDICATION FOR DEPRESSION used in panic disorder treatment are a. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) b. Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI) c. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) d. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI)

2. Anti-anxiety drugs like Benzodiazepines can prove to be very effective in COPING WITH ANXIETY and ANXIETY DISORDER SYMPTOMS but are highly addictive causing other problems.

There are also other alternative ANXIETY NATURAL REMEDIES like HERBS FOR ANXIETY and ANXIETY CURES that can be given. Your doctor will first try to identify the CAUSES OF ANXIETY before starting treatment. Although medication may reduce the intensity of the symptoms, it does not offer a permanent cure. As such, therapy and self-help methods have to be implemented along with medicines if the patient is to benefit favorably from such treatment.

Also, some drugs have an addictive effect and can cause very severe withdrawal symptoms when stopped so taking drugs has to be done under strict medical supervision taking into consideration the patient’s medical history, current symptoms, and concomitant medication that could interact adversely or interfere with the drug’s efficacy.

Once started, you should not stop medication abruptly to avoid adverse reactions and effects. If you realize that you are unduly anxious, it would be best to talk to your family doctor at the first SIGNS OF ANXIETY, and follow up with a mental health professional, who can treat you at an early stage.

Knowing that you are not alone plays a big role in your treatment and recovery.Panic disorder treatment starts at home with the support of family and close friends.  Although medication coupled with psychotherapy can help you immensely, it is advisable to combine this with meditation and breathing exercises, and development of new hobbies and social activities as a social anxiety treatment for reducing the incidence of fears and anxious thoughts that could lead to panic attacks.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Comments are closed.