Best treatment for panic attacks – ‘Shrinks’ shrink the road to help

Anxiety and panic disorder is fast attaining the doubtful glory of holding the first position in the field of psychotic disorders. It has become extremely widespread in the last decade or so, claiming patients from all age brackets. Experts blame the hustle and bustle world of today – with deadlines to meet and agendas to arrange, total relaxation seems fabulous and strain has become synonymous with life.

Anxiety disorders are a generic name for a group of linked ailments. The generalized anxiety disorder is the commonest form of the disease, appearing to be chronic, with diffused and mild symptoms. Panic attacks form the other end of the spectrum, as they are sudden and severe. Other disorders generally clubbed under the heading are:

•    Social disorders like Agoraphobia
•    Obsessive and Compulsive disorder
•    Separation disorder
•    Post-traumatic Stress disorder
Treatment for panic attacks is a must – left to itself the ailments become a harassment for both the patient and for the people around him apart from increasing morbidity in the patient. The best source of this help would be the psychotherapist, a person referred to in an off-handed manner as the ‘shrink’.
A shrink comes across as a counsellor, a person who, first and foremost, lends a sympathetic ear to the patient’s outpourings of the heart. Very often a few sessions with the shrink lead to removal of minor snags and hitches in the patients that may have been behind the anxiety disorder manifestations. The shrink, therefore, performs the useful task of correctly diagnosing the genuine anxiety disorder patients. He has a set of American Psychiatric Association (APA) guidelines to help him through this job.

Once diagnosed, the psychotherapist is again the source of help. He sets into motion what is medically called as the Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The patient is motivated to think logically and positively and to strengthen his will power. He is taught to control his panicky thoughts and tries to replace them by calming ones. ‘I shall not panic’ or similar chants are used by him to nip the symptoms of panic in the bud. CBT is one of the best treatment for panic attacks, employ as it does the mind of the patient itself. It is something akin to strengthening the victim itself to fight the tormentor instead of providing external aid.
Biofeedback is another mechanism that has been used in association with CBT. It consists of attaching several small portable meters to a patient’s body – these machines measure variables like heartbeat, blood pressure, sweat gland activity, body temperature, et cetera in such a way that the patient himself can see the changes in the values. The visualization of the fluctuation in his physiological parameters helps the patient realize more strongly the effect of his panicky thoughts on his body. The desire to control his thoughts and his body variables begins to take root in his psychology. It has been observed that gradually, the patient’s will power strengthens to an extent that he can begin to control his body parameter changes, albeit only partially.

Another technique that the shrink utilizes as a treatment for panic attacks in specific cases is the Exposure Therapy. Patients of the post-traumatic stress disorder, as the name implies, have faced certain trying situations in life, rendering them incapable of facing those same situations again. For example, a subject who was nearly drowned shall exhibit fear of still waters. The exposure therapy tends to make the patient buck up and face his fear – although in controlled surroundings and in tiny measures. The absence of harm in the presence of the fear factor goes a long way towards ridding the patient’s mind of his phobia.

A therapy for the obsessive and compulsive disorder (OCD) that a shrink is likely to utilize is Exposure and Response prevention (ERP). The OCD is characterized by a certain action that the doer tries performing repeatedly because he associates it in his mind with some fear. For example, fear of dirt leading to constant washing of hands. The person is exposed to this fear, as in the exposure therapy

and his response is prevented by way of the treatment.

If all else fails, medications for anxiety attacks are also there. Mostly acting as tranquilizers, they fall into three categories – Benzodiazepines, Buspirones and Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These medicines must be consumed under strict medical supervision.