Panic Attacks Treatment: A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or apprehension. It is characterized by dizziness,

• a feeling of depersonalization or detachment from one’s surroundings,
  
• palpitations or increased heart rate,
• chills or hot flashes, chest tightness (or even pain),
  
• choking or difficulty breathing, a fear of losing control or ‘going crazy’,
  
• sweating, shaking or trembling, tingling or numbness.
  

Panic Attacks Treatment: Overlooked Facts!

While an episode may reach a crescendo in as little as ten minutes and subside over a period of a few hours, it can be extremely debilitating and may even trigger a visit to the local emergency room. When multiple episodes (at least two) are followed by at least a month of worrying about having another attack, this is referred to as panic disorder.

An acute attack may be treated with tranquillizers. When prolonged treatment is indicated, clinicians are turning more and more to non-pharmaceutical approaches to panic attacks treatment.

Popular methods of therapy include Cognitive Behavioral Training (CBT), applied relaxation and exposure. Recently, internet-based programs of CBT have been tested, as has noninvasive stimulation of the brain using radioelectric asymmetric conveyor (REAC).

When these methods fail, or when the patient chooses drug treatment, the first line approach is to prescribe a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as sertraline or citalopram, or a combined selective serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SSNRI) like venlafaxine. Benzodiazepines, i. E., diazepam (valium) or lorazepam, are not recommended for long-term use.

• Treatment for Panic Attacks:Traditional Way!
  

Cognitive Behavioral Training (CBT) is a way of managing negative or unhelpful thoughts and feelings by altering behavior in such a way as to encourage positive or helpful thoughts and feelings. For example, you walk past a colleague on your way back from the canteen at work and you smile at them.

• They do not return the smile.

A positive, healthy reaction would be to think, ‘he looks a little preoccupied. I hope he’s okay’. On the other hand, a negative, unhelpful reaction is, ‘what’s his problem? He didn’t even look at me. Is he angry with me? What have I done? Has somebody said something nasty about me? Who hates me enough to spread ugly rumors’, and so on. If it is your case, then you’re right to look for a panic attacks treatment

• Panic Attacks Treatment: The RIGHT Action!

By the time you get back to your desk, you are convinced that everybody in the firm hate you and maybe you should find another job. You immediately update your resume. A more positive action would be to phone your colleague or send him a friendly email or instant message to reassure yourself that everything is alright, or offer him help.

He mentions that the washing machine overflowed just as he was leaving the house that morning. You share a chuckle and feel much better. CBT trains people to take positive, helpful actions to stimulate positive thoughts and this is important when it comes to panic attacks treatment.

Panic Attacks Treatment: Another Option!

Exposure therapy is another strategy for learning how to cope with anxious feelings in an uncomfortable situation. It begins by ‘rehearsing’ or thinking about the stressful situation while in a comfortable, ‘safe’ place. Imagine that you are in the situation that triggers the unpleasant symptoms.

It is a good idea to have a friend with you when you are doing this. Remember everything you can about the situation. When you feel ready, place yourself into the situation that causes the symptoms. The point here is to expose yourself directly to the horrible feelings. Force yourself not to escape, but to stay in the situation and experience the negative feelings.

You will feel discomfort, but you will not die, ‘go crazy’, wet yourself or do whatever it is you fear that you will do if you do not escape. After a time, the anxious feelings will die down, and this is important to know when it comes to looking for a panic attacks treatment.

• You may experience another wave of anxiety.

If this happens, ride it out. Repeat this technique as often as necessary until the situation that triggers the anxiety fails to elicit the symptoms. You may never entirely get over it, but you should be able to tolerate the feelings to the point where they are no longer disabling.

A group of scientists in London conducted a meta-analysis of 20 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CBT with exposure treatment. The patients in the trials had pot traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD) and social phobia (SP).

There was no statistically significant difference in the relative efficacy of the two approaches in the PTSD, OCD and PD groups. This suggests that both approaches are appropriate for the treatment of panic attacks. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant difference between CBT and exposure, in both the short and the long term. CBT was superior in both cases.

Panic Attacks Treatment: Good to Know Info!

• Applied relaxation was first described in the late 1930s.

The first phase of this technique is called ‘progressive relaxation’ (PR). In the first session, the patient is taught to first tense the muscles of the shoulders, neck, face, hands and arms, and then relax them. They are asked to go home and practice.

During the second session, the therapist instructs the patient to contract their legs, hips, feet, breathing, chest, stomach and back, and then relax them. In the third phase, the patient is taught to relax these muscle groups without having to tense them first. The aim here is to reduce the length of time it takes to completely relax and this is important when it comes to looking for a panic attack treatment.

Radioelectric asymmetric conveyor (REAC) stimulation of the brain has been tried in people with agoraphobia, a debilitating panic disorder in which sufferers believe they would be embarrassed in a situation and not be ‘rescued’.

• Ultimately, the sufferer refuses to leave the house.

Using REAC, the therapist delivers a brief pulse of radiofrequency (500 milliseconds at 10.5 gigahertz) to the pavilion of the patient’s ear. This is noninvasive, painless and lasts only a few seconds. This is done in series of 18 sessions, separated by a ‘resting’ period of six months.

• Panic attacks fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorder.

These include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), agoraphobia, social anxiety, etc. A group of researchers in Australia have been conducting Randomized Controlled Trial (RCTs) of internet-based CBT (iCBT) have been conducted in using transdiagnostic approach.

They have set up five free fully automated, web-based e-mental health interventions for a number of anxiety disorders and, to avoid non-desired results, you should consider all the above mentioned facts about looking for a panic attacks treatment.