Treatment for panic attacks

Recognition is the first step towards treatment for panic attacks. It is one thing to know you are susceptible to Anxiety attacks, and another one to solve it. If you stop at the point of just recognizing that you panic quickly, it can actually make the problem worse, not better.

Because you would then become nervous just anticipating a panic attack which, of course, makes you more likely to experience one. So, Awareness of the problem is only the first step. Action is the next and the most important step in the process.

You need to find a treatment for panic attacks that works so you can face stressful situation such as driving, flying, public speaking and exams with confidence.

What options do you have for treatment for panic attacks?

Medication for Anxiety attacks.

Medication used to treat panic attacks usually is in the form of sedatives or antidepressants. While these may make a good short-term solution, this type of treatment for anxiety does not solve the problem at all. Medication only deals with the symptoms, rather than the root causes of the panic attacks. Medications prescribed to treat panic attacks such as anti-depressants often have unwanted side effects such as lethargy, reduced sex drive and can be addictive.

Furthermore, many of the physical reactions involved in panic attacks are the same as the body's reaction to stress or danger, so dampening this response could actually be dangerous. Your body may need to produce these responses in a life-threatening situation.

This last factor applies to herbal remedies as well as to over-the-counter or prescription lab-made pharmaceutical medications. Sedatives and anti-depressants also take away a lot of the zest from life, as the same hormones that are responsible for panic attacks are also responsible for feelings of excitement, enthusiasm and exhilaration.

Breathing into a paper bag to remove anxiety

This is one of those home remedies that is often suggested by many mainstream doctors (and by helpful friends) as a treatment for panic attacks. Again, this is a short-term solution that works by counteracting the symptoms of the panic attack rather than the root causes.

This short-term treatment for panic attacks is not always practical, as many people suffer panic attacks in situations where breathing into a paper bag is impossible, such as when driving or in exams where you are not permitted to bring opaque containers into the room with you.

 

Behavior therapy to reduce Anxiety Attacks

This is a more successful form of treatment for panic attacks, as it removes the fear of the symptoms, which reduces the overall feelings of panic and anxiety when those symptoms, such as dizziness, increased heartbeat and sweating.

Behavior therapy is a complicated form of treatment for panic attacks, as it involves a systematic desensitization to dizziness, shaking, etc. in a controlled environment so the person undergoing the panic attacks learns that they are not dying or going crazy when they experience these symptoms.

Some of the methods used in this form of treatment for panic attacks include deliberate hyperventilation, being spun rapidly in a chair for a minute, running in place and breathing through straw (one has to wonder if the people who invented this form of treatment had an off-beat sense of humor).

 This form of treatment for panic attacks is quite a lengthy process and can be quite expensive, as this is not the sort of treatment that should be administered by an amateur, no matter how well-intentioned he/she is. However, in the case of extreme phobias, it may be a very useful form of treatment for panic attacks.

 

Building confidence to ward off panic.

This form of treatment for panic attacks looks at the root causes of the trigger for the attacks rather than the symptoms of the attack. By treating the root cause, the panic attack can be overcome. Several methods of treatment for Anxiety attacks work to build confidence. Some methods teach a method of distraction so the person suffering the panic attack switches his/her focus off the trigger and onto something harmless. Other methods involve positive affirmations and self-talk.

One method of treating  panic attacks called the One Move Technique has had quite a lot of success and does not require medication or a series of sessions with a trained therapist (who is probably very expensive), and doesn't require you to take a paper bag with you wherever you go just in case.

This method works to defuse the power of panic attacks by helping the sufferer understand how the panic attacks actually work, alongside a simple technique for breaking the panic attack spiral. This in turn builds confidence, enabling the (former) sufferer to face stressful situations such as public speaking, driving, flying or exams.

The One Move Technique helps in breaking the pattern of Fear- Panic-Anxiety very easily. It has been tested by over a four hundred of my own visitors and many of them have successfully broken the fear cycle induced by such panic attacks. Will it work for all the people who buy the book? Probably not.

Don't get me wrong, the One Move Technique works for all. But simply buying the book is not enough to get rid of your panic attacks. You have to practice the techniques suggested and follow along the simple guidelines and you will get fantastic results. Some of my visitors who had been in therapy for years were surprised to find such a simple and inexpensive solution to their long due problem that they still cannot believe it.