Posts by Jeffrey
Treatments For Panic Attacks
Treatments For Panic Attacks
Natural Treatments For Panic Attacks & Clinical Treatments For Panic Attacks
There are all sorts of treatments available for panic attacks and axiety disorders, but the important thing to understand is that it can be treated. May it be through the use of certain drugs, conditionning, therapy and other different strategies, there are many ways you can put an end to your general anxiety.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This method has been proved to be the most effective if applied correctly. It does not require any medication, it is completely natural and can be done by anyone by applying the suggested techniques.
Methods vary from one source to another, but basically, cognitive behavioral therapy will make the patient think and focus on different behaviors and thoughts that act as a trigger effect on those panic attacks. It consist into facing whatever subconscious pattern could provoke the panic for the subject and understand what are the exact fears that they feel, as well as to see these fear as what reality they do represent for that person.
Basically, it is meant for the patient to face the problem instead of running from it. In the long term, this is the most efficient way to deal with panic attacks because this is how you put an end to the anxiety, instead of just controlling each attack that keep coming back.
A cognitive behavioral treatment example would be to think about a particular situation where you have faced or could face a panic attack.
Let’s pretend that I am the subject, since I have been through this in the past. A good example of place where it would usually hit me is in a crowded restaurant, where they dim the lights.
For some reason, if there were no bright lights and I could not see clearly, I would start freaking out, and the more people there were, the worst it would get.
Now, for the purpose of this form of therapy, I would have to put myself into the exact same situation (mentally, of course) by closing my eyes and pretending for a few minutes. At that point, what is the worst possible thing that could happen if the situation was real ?
Probably that I would have to go to the bathroom, to lock myself in the cabin, and wait for this panic attack to go after a few minutes. I would not faint, I would not die or completely lose control. I would tell whoever is with me at the restaurant that I have to go to the bathroom for a moment.. and that’s it !
Once you realize that it really isn’t this bad, and that nothing dangerous can happen, this is usually the first part of the healing process (this was just one example among so many).
Clinical Treatments for Panic Disorder
When suffering from panic attacks, it is easy to fall into the medication pattern, but it is not the best solution by itself. Medicines, like Ativan for example, which is a benzodiazepine, are often prescribed to patient suffering from panic disorder, but they are not a long term solution.
Those medicines are only used to calm the subject during an attack, not to avoid the next one. They are good panic attack treatments at the moment when the anxiety appears, but we should never abuse of good things. Taking medicines only, as a temporary solution, can often lead to the same problems as if a subject fell into alcoholism.
It feels good for your mind for a certain lap of time, but it’s obviously not the best way to proceed.
On the other hand, since panic attacks have often been associated with depressions (it was my case), antidepressant can be a good solution, only if combined with the proper therapy, obviously.
And please, for your own good, never try to get generic medicine by yourself. There are certiain patterns, doses and programs that need to be followed in order for any medication to be efficient.
Example of Medications To Treat Panic Attacks and Anxiety Disorders
Benzodiazepines :
Most anti-anxiety medication would be in this drug family. Xanax and Valium are also in this category, but no, they are not a good solution for you if you are dealing with a panic attack problem. They really are not the best treatment for panic attacks.
Since anti-anxiety prescriptions are given to stop the attack when it occurs, not to prevent it, they need to do an effect on the subject rather quickly. It usually takes between 5 minutes to 30 minutes before this medication releases it’s full effect in your body.
You also need to be very careful with benzodiazepines, because they are highly addictive. And don’t take this notice lightly; people who are addicted to benzodiazepines are often comparing their medicine addiction to heroin addiction. It is not only a psychological addiction, but a physical one.
A subject who stops taking his drugs after having used those over a long period of time are suffering from intense side effects. Since benzodiazepines often work by blocking the adrenaline production to your nervous system, as well as reducing the production of serotonin from your brain, the physical symptoms are hard to deal with.
Think about it…
The adrenaline is what increases your heartbeat and creates a rush in your nervous system at the moment of a panic attack, while serotonin is what generates motivation and happiness in your brain.
Stopping the production of those two will often lead to depression, lack of motor coordination, chronic fatigue, slower breathing capacity and psychological brain fog.
Antidepressants :
Unlike the benzodiazepines, antidepressants are prescribed to improve the production of serotonin from your brain. In other words, it is used to improve your every day motivation and general happiness.
But they are not used to control an attack when it occurs. They are more of long term treatments for panic attacks.
They are used over a long period of time, to stabilize a malfunction that the subject had, which slowly lead him to anxiety, and eventually panic attacks and panic disorder.
It usually takes 3 to 4 weeks of every day use to end up seeing results and change in your cognitive behaviors.
Once again, make sure to consult a doctor before using antidepressants, as there are often different steps in the dosage you will take.
Step one will usually be for one to two weeks, with the minimum dose.
It will not help you generate considerably more serotonin, but it’s an important step as you are doing it to get used to that medicine. There are a few uncomfortable side effect to antidepressant, hence the importance of this 1st step.
After that first week, they double the dose, for a month or so, to start the healing process.
After that month, you raise the dose again, in order to recreate the usual production of serotonin from a normally functioning brain.
Some doctors are spreading this process over 3 and sometimes 4 medication steps.
It usually takes about 20 to 40 minutes for antidepressant to take effect. Side effects will be fatigue, dizziness, heartaches (some people throw up the first few times), headaches and nausea.
It might not work for everyone but personally, what helped me cope with these feeling more smoothly was first of all, always eat after 30 minutes of taking this. And after one to two hours after taking mine, I would go and do some sports. When someone runs for a certain times, the euphoria feeling that they get from it is created by the endorphin produced by your body. Since endorphin acts a little bit like adrenaline, but mostly in your mood instead of physical performance, it helped me feel better for the time I was doing sports. Therefore, the negative side effects and feeling associated with taking my pills did not last as long. But this is me… We are all different!
And yes, after a few weeks, I did notice that my panic attacks were not coming back as often as before. I would also control my panic attacks with more ease.
Panic Attack Therapy By Exposure or Exposure Therapy
This was the very first form of therapy that the first doctor I saw suggested me.
It is usually not to stop your panic attack. And it is also not to prevent future panic attacks. It is usually used to help you understand how the next one could feel, and to cope better with that stressful feeling.
In my case, the first attack I had lasted for way too long, because I kept hyperventilating while trying to catch my breath. So to help me feel better about it next time, the doctor told me to, every now and then, to start to breathe very fast, and therefore provoke that hyperventilation feeling.
I would get used to it and manage to get relaxed faster next time.
But exposure therapy also consists in various physical simulations and treatments to help the subject lessen the anxiety related to that sensation.
Those exercises will simulate the same feelings or symptoms that one might feel during a panic attack, and therefore, the patient feels more comfortable the next time it occurs.
It is a good first step to face your fears.
Instead of avoiding each one of those situations, you have to ask for more all by yourself.
If you are trying to put an end to your anxiety attacks and completely stop those, a combination of cognitive therapy and exposure therapy is without a doubt the best solution.
Barry McDonagh has in my opinion, the fastest and most clever approach for these two forms of therapy !
I hope this article helped you.
Wishing you the best of luck,
And remember to always stay positive !
Jeffrey M.
Read MoreExactly What Is A Panic Attack ?
Exactly What is A Panic Attack ?
And most of all, what are panic attack symptoms ?
You cannot really compare panic attacks to the usual stressful situation that one faces in an ordinary day. They are extremely amplified state of fear accompanied by strong unpleasant side effect along the ride. You should not take this lightly as it is a real medical condition that can appear for no reason without any warning.
Depending on what situation you are facing, what has provked the attack, and what your health condition is, symptoms could differ from one person to another. The typical symptoms are a complete state of fear, faster heart pulsations, chest pain, dizziness and fear of dying. For most people, you can almost never really associate any evident threat at the moment it occurs, as they are mostly triggered by the subconscious part of your brain.
With time, consequences can become very serious and it will affect someon’s life quality a lot. Since most courses are only teaching how to manage your stress and how to cope with it, instead of teaching how to completely stop your panic attacks, it ends up coming back at one point or another. And since the subject is trying to avoid this particular situation, or any single situation that might provoke a panic attack, you begin to fear having another panic attack.
Which is fear of fear.
And at this point, what was a panic attack usually becomes a panic disorder, or anxiety disorder. You body will try to keep you safe and far from any general anxiety. Where do you feel the safest ?
At home.
So automatically, one’s reflex is to stay home as much as possible. This leads to agoraphobia. Fear of people and crowds in general. Some people also end up being afraid of driving, of flying or working.
It can also lead to other serious medical conditions as depression, claustrophobia, alcoholism, drug abuse and agoraphobia as mentioned before.
What Are The Panic Attack Symptoms
Those are the most common panic attack symptoms :
- State of fear
- Hard time breathing
- Feeling that the body doesn’t know how to breathe anymore
- Dizziness
- Hyperventilation
- Numbness in your fingers or in your lips
- Chest pain
- Increased heartbeat
- Sweating
- Hot flushes
- Free falling sensation
- Fear of dying
- Intense fatigue
- Brain fog (feeling of being loose headed)
If you feel like you might have more than one of those symptoms, I suggest you go consult your doctor. This could be very serious. And those symptoms are also often associated to some other serious medical conditions.
A panic attack usually last 10 to 15 minutes. It can be shorter than that, and can definitely last longer too. My first panic attack lasted almost one hour and a half. It might seem long to some people, but once you start hyperventilating, the sensation of non-stopping dizziness generates more stress, which makes you breathe faster, which generates more panic. At this point, when you don’t know what is going on, it is hard to get out of that spinning wheel.
What Are Panic Attacks Causes
There are many active studies around the planet still trying to establish exactly what causes this anxiety disorder, but a combination of many factors could very well be the reason for such anxiety disorder.
- Genetics
- General anxiety
- Stress Accumulation; Work, Personal Life, Financial Situation
- Accumululated fatigue
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Brain abnormalities
- Liver and digestive system failure
What If A Panic Attack Is Never Treated ?
Well, if you never treat your panic disorder, you might end up with many anti social symptoms, as well as different anxiety related symptoms.
- Agoraphobia : You might try to avoid crowded places as common and ordinary as a supermarket. You might slowly stop seeing your friends, and even family members are you could be affraid of being judged.
- Panic disorder : Which is the fear of having another panic attack
- Paranoia : You might associate every single stressful event in your life to a panic attack
- Avoidance : You will start to avoid most situation where you are not completely in control, as well as most situation where you don’t have an “exit door”. For example you might stop going to the restaurant, even when they are not crowded, because you are affraid of getting an attack in an unknown environment, as well as having to drive back home.
- Depression : As time goes on, it becomes heavier and heavier to bare with your state. It often leads to depression. Lack of motivation at work, lack of energy, constant boredom. This is caused on the long term by a lack of serotonin in your brain.
- Alcohol abuse : Since panic attacks are a close cousin to depression (anxiety disorder) the first escape reaction will often be to drink (alcohol). By avoiding to face the stressful situation, and also because alcohol is a good inhibitor, it is easier into this altered state not to think about stressful situations and avoid those too. Dependance will occur after a certain time.
Who Suffers From Panic Attacks ?
This will probably reassure you. There are almost 10% of the population who suffers a form of anxiety disorder or another.
Teenagers from 15 years old to yound aldults under 35 years old are more likely to develop a chronic panic attack problem. Women under 35 are also twice as likely to suffer attacks.
Here, in Canada, a very complete study was made in 2002. Here is a table showing a few stats regarding the affected population.
Solution & Resolution
Even though 18% of people suffering from panic attacks never consult a doctor in their life (regarding this particular issue), if you are following the right procedures, you can treat your panic attacks in 90% of cases. Also, 75% of people affected could definitely treat any anxiety disorder without the use of medication. Treating your panic attacks as soon as possible is very important though. You don’t want to wait until this stressful state becomes an habit.
There are many very good books that I have come accross at the library and online. The one book with a “out-of-the-box” solution, using unorthodox methods, was very successful for me.
It is Barry McDonagh’s Panic Away. I suggest that you take 5 minutes to watch the video of Barry explaining what his method consist of.
I wish you the best of luck.
And remember to always stay positive!
Jeffrey M.
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