Panic Attacks - A Guide to Healing
Thursday, April 30th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Panic disorder is very difficult to diagnose because its predominant characteristic is recurring panic attacks. Hence, this psychological condition is often confused with some physical conditions such as heart attack because they have similar symptoms. Treatment may start once it has been diagnosed properly. Treatment usually lasts for a number of months, longer in some cases.
The most effective treatment comes in the form of therapies. The most common is the cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a combination of cognitive and behavior therapy as the name suggests. This is a short-term form of psychotherapy, where you yourself are dynamically involved in your own recovery. CBT tries to change the way you think or act in particular circumstances by focusing on recognizing, comprehending, and altering thinking and behavior patterns. This is founded on the principle that when an individual changes his thoughts and actions, emotional changes also follow.
Cognitive therapy aims to alter your worrying thoughts by letting you study and understand your fears and make you distinguish which are realistic and which are irrational. Behavior therapy on the other hand, exposes you to the physical sensations you feel during an attack, only this time, you are in a safe environment, which then lets you develop coping skills to handle unwanted behavior.
Relaxation techniques are also helpful for effectively coping with panic attacks by practicing how to handle the stresses and physical indications that contribute to anxiety. Included here are breathing exercises, yoga and meditation. A re-examination of thoughts can also be involved.
To aid you in controlling panic attacks, there are some medications, which you can use that have been proven effective. These include anti-depressants, which have to be taken continuously since it would take some time before they actually work, and drugs specifically designed for anxiety, which are fast acting but are highly addictive. Thus, you must be careful in taking anti-anxiety medications. Moreover, aside from taking medication for treatment, you also have to go through therapy because there have been many instances when a patient who became panic-free while taking medication experienced panic attacks once more when medication was discontinued.
Self-help programs on how to deal with panic attacks are also beneficial. Many of such programs are available online, in hospitals, mental health clinics, and other medical establishments for mental health. You could also ask from your family doctor or from a sufferer you know personally who is now panic-free.
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