Panic Attacks

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Don’t Panic

Panic Attack?

Heart failure? You’re sweating, gasping for breath, suffocating. Your heart’s pounding. You feel dizzy and sick, and your hands and feet tingle. Are you’re dying? Maybe you’re going insane. The fear intensifies, swells into unbearable paralyzing terror…

Do you recognize those symptoms? Have you experienced panic attacks? Do you know why? More importantly, do you know what, if anything, you can do to prevent the attacks in future? Maybe it’s not you having the attacks, but someone close to you: a friend, a daughter or son, a spouse, a parent. It can feel just as bad, watching someone you care for suffer, as having the attacks yourself. So let’s see what we can do to help each other.

Say Goodbye to Panic Attacks!

Causes

Sometimes there isn’t any apparent cause. It’s possible to wake up from a peaceful sleep to find out you’re having your first, and perhaps only attack. But more often than not, there is an underlying and reoccurring reason; the attacks are repeated, and in turn give further cause for anxiety, until the fear of having a panic attack makes the attack more likely.

The defense system within the brain will seek to identify the triggers of the panic attacks, and to then avoid such situations. But it can make mistakes, and can generalize or go too far, leading to phobias, such as agoraphobia, i.e. because you had an attack while you were outside, the outside must be to blame, so your defense mechanism keeps you locked inside your home.

A more rational examination will show that it tends to be intense stress or emotional upheaval that triggers attacks. The first instance may be brought on by life-changing events such as a death or birth in the family, and subsequent stresses then cause further episodes. Some people are more vulnerable than others, maybe due to genetic make up or life experience. Whatever the reasons, the one thing that won’t help is being told to ‘pull yourself together’.

Know what you’re dealing with

The first and most important reaction to the onset of panic attacks is to ensure they are just that. The symptoms often feel like a heart attack, so make sure it isn’t a physical, life-threatening disorder.

Once you are sure of what the attacks are, try to keep them in proportion. While extremely unpleasant, an attack will tend to reach it’s worst within ten minutes and have faded away entirely within an hour. Bear that in mind – it will soon pass.

Panic attacks are treatable and curable, even if the underlying causes are unavoidable. You can’t eliminate all stress and emotional upset from your life, but you can, with help, retrain yourself to react to them without panic.

Measure to take

Don’t deliberately seek out situations that are certain to cause panic, at least until you have a better control of your reactions. Stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine can make you more vulnerable to attacks, so avoid those too.

When you do feel an attack coming on, reassure yourself that it will soon pass. If you are in public, don’t be embarrassed. Most sensible people, if they notice at all, will understand that you are experiencing difficulty and will respond with sympathy.

Learn how to control your breathing to prevent hyperventilating (that feeling of gasping for air). Taking long deep breaths in and out will calm the entire situation down. This is the best single thing you can do for yourself or for anyone suffering from hyperventilation. You may have even seen people told to breath into a paper bag, which will help providing it is only about ten breaths inside the bag in between taking several outside.

Where possible, talk about your anxieties with friends and family. It does help to share your fears and to have the support of people who care about you. Most importantly, seek help from the experts. Remember, panic attacks are treatable and curable.

Expert help

If you have to wait for a suitable therapy, such as the process outlined below, your doctor may prescribe medications to tide you over in the short term. Antidepressants may subdue attacks but only after you have taken them for a number of weeks, whereas Benzodiazepines are useful for relieving an attack once it is under way. Neither is suitable as a long-term solution.

Recent studies have shown that the best possible treatment for panic attacks is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Just a few sessions with a therapist can give you a clearer perspective on your anxiety and help you build strong coping mechanisms. The therapist will, in a safe and relaxed environment, show you how to deal with your symptoms as well as understanding the triggers and consequences. Facing up to your fears in this way will reduce them to a much more manageable level and put you firmly back in control.

Say Goodbye to Panic Attacks!

Behavioral Therapy vs.Drug Therapy?

A good question. How does a person know which to choose, if any? A basic understanding of the nature of different disorders is important in understanding which therapy is for what. A session or two with a psychologist or psychiatrist (good at distinguishing between different disorders) is a very good idea. Ask around.

Who Needs Drugs?

There are several disorders that appear to be genetically based or at least have a biological component. These are best treated by medications which will help to normalize the disordered brain. There are basically 2 types: The cognitive disorders, like schizophrenia, and the mood (or affective) disorders. Just as each has its own symptoms and prognosis, each has its own group of drugs that work best. That’s why it’s extremely important to distinguish between the two. When it comes to these 2 disorders medication will help you to be your best. Not that therapy can’t be considered, especially in terms of coming to terms with your illness, it can, but for most part, medication will be needed to maintain the brains stability so that a person lives a normal life.

Know more about Behavioral Therapy!

Behavioral Therapy

Behavioral therapy has been popular for some time and is often used along with medication to treat behavioral problems that coexist with one of these disorders, but it can be used alone for less severe problems originating in the psyche. Behavioral Therapy is based on learning theory which was a popular treatment for all disorders in until the 1960′s when research showed overwhelming evidence that medication was superior in these 2 disorders, to any other treatment. There are many Behavioral Theorists: Pavlov who caused dogs to salivate to a bell and B. F. Skinner, who demonstrated that even mice can learn not to press a bar if they’re shocked continually!(learned helplessness). Whether or not the theories are appealing is moot: The point is, research has shown that Behavioral Therapy works in many cases, alluding to the possibility that certain problems are, in fact, just learned responses. What is learned can be unlearned.

The DSMIV (Diagnostic Manual) lists neurotic disorders, which are types of maladaptive behavior that psychiatrists rarely deal with. Behavioral Therapy is usually done by a Behavioral Psychologist and is useful in changing all sorts of behavioral issues which are, essentially, habits. Behavioral People rarely rely on “neurosis” or other psychological terminology to define a person; rather, they define behaviors and ways to exchange these negative habits for more positive ones.

In reality there are many extremely bizarre behaviors that are not considered psychotic, just “extremely weird.” Once medical issues are ruled out there may be no reason for medication at all. Sometimes anti anxiety agents are used while the behavior is changing, but the treating lies in the change of behavior itself.

We change behavior in animals by rewarding them with food when they do what we want. The same learning curve that applies to animals applies to humans. We all learn maladaptive behaviors of one sort or another in our lives which we can generally sort out ourselves, as we get older. Some of the more severe anxiety disorders are coupled with symptoms that can make it very difficult for the person to live. Phobias are an example of a pretty scarey set of symptoms that can be overcome behaviorally.

One of the primary concepts in behavioral therapy is reinforcement: That a behavior becomes a habit (conditioned) when it’s being rewarded in some way and will continue as long as it’s reinforced. Phobias are perfect examples of reinforcement because the lessening of anxiety is the primary reinforce. The person is reinforced by avoiding the anxiety.

Know more about Behavioral Therapy!

You can teach a dog tricks by rewarding with food. People are more complex but we actually operate in the same manner: We approach what is positive and avoid what is negative. Roosevelt was right when he said nothing to fear but fear itself: As fearing fear turns it into panic and panic turns into phobia. In phobia cases a person is desensitized to his anxiety by gradual exposure to whatever is feared. If one can dispassionately experience their anxiety, note it and not become upset over it, the anxiety begins to lessen. Over time it can be completely eradicated. Finding something more positive than avoiding extreme anxiety and/or panic is often very difficult and gradual exposure to the feared object is required. With each exposure, the anxiety will subside a little, if the person doesn’t run. People with phobias feel unworthy, frightened and out of control most of the time. The reinforces in these cases is definitely the rise in self esteem, once the problem has been overcome.

So there are different types of disorders, some have a physical basis and need medication, some behavioral which can be treated by retraining our life responses. Specific disorders benefit from medication and others do not. Neither medication nor behavioral therapy is something that applies to everyone. It’s that simple.

How to Not Allow Anxiety to Control Your Life

Anxiety typically acts as an internal alert system that lets your body sense that there is potential danger. Some degree of anxiety is normal, and most individuals experience this at some time in their lives. Unfortunately, certain people tend to have this feeling regularly, even when there is not imminent danger. Many methods can be attempted in effort to reduce these stressful emotions. Some of these potential solutions can act as permanent ones, while others may only provide temporary relief. Occasionally, these methods do not help extreme sufferers of anxiety, and those individuals may want to seek some form of professional therapy for assistance.]

Treat Anxiety and Regain Your Life

Learn to Recognize Anxiety Symptoms

To overcome anxiety, it is important to find out what is triggering this response. As your day progresses, anytime you notice that feeling creeping up, try to take a moment to notice what is occurring moments before the feelings of anxiousness present themselves. Keep a journal or log that can be studied later to find any correlations between activities and the anxiety, and this will give you a foundation to begin working on your trigger areas. If you are uncertain about when these attacks occur the most often, it is a good idea to seek the input of relatives or close friends who spend time with you most often.

Breathing and Relaxation Techniques

When you begin to feel anxious, try to concentrate on every breath that you take, and make sure it comes from deep within the diaphragm. If possible, take a moment to seat yourself, close your eyes, and begin a process of progressive muscle relaxation. This technique calls for you to begin at one end of the body, and one by one, tighten and relax every muscle in your body that can flex. Then, slowly progress to the opposite end of the body, until your anxiety dissipates. Practicing this relaxation method is great for anxiety, stress relief, as well as for inducing sleep.

Avoid Avoidance

Initially, it may seem wise to avoid any situations that cause your Anxiety to become exacerbated, but this is only a temporary solution that could make things worse in the long term. With the support of friends and family, attempt to go to places or allow yourself to get involved in situations that typically cause you anxiety. The more you get out there and face any irrational fears that induce anxiety, the easier they become to handle on a daily basis. By involving peers for support, this can ease the initial discomfort to some extent, and they can help you if the symptoms get out of hand.

There are many ways that you can locate the sources of your anxiety, as well as find methods to alleviate stressful reactions to the condition. Regardless of which method works best for you, it is important to focus on living in the present, and try to avoid letting stress or anxiety control your life. Be proactive, and start working on alleviating your anxiety symptoms, before they continue to work on you.