Panic attack treatments: Forestalling Anxiety, Foretelling Peace

The hustle and bustle world of today is reeling under the onus of the anxiety and panic disorder. The pace with which this ailment is grabbing victims in its wake is truly alarming.

The commonest manifestation of this multi-headed demon is the generalized anxiety disorder. This is characterized by the usual symptoms of tension and worry, but the proportion, the frequency and the intensity of the symptoms are anything but usual.

Palpitations, sweating, nausea, giddiness, trembling limbs, feeling of disassociation from surroundings and unease in the stomach are some of the symptoms. These may appear in the disorder patient without any trigger at times, or may require trivial excuses to get into gear. Gradually, their influence on the individual mounts, causing as much as a lifestyle change and deleterious effects on the person’s mental and physical health.

Another form of anxiety disorder is Panic attack. Panic attacks are sudden and severe in onset and can often get triggered without apparent reasons. Their effect on the patient’s system may be so detrimental that the subject may require hospitalization or at least immediate medical care. Its intensity may be comparable to that of a heart attack.

However, the problem also has a solution. Panic attack treatments are available. More and more people are questioning the recurrence of their bouts of anxiety and consulting established psychiatrists and psychologists.

The diagnosis of anxiety disorder is subject to the criteria formulated by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) also classifies various types of anxiety disorders as in Phobias, Separation disorder, Social disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive disorder apart from Generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks mentioned above.

A psychotherapist often comes across as the best source of anxiety attack treatments. He or she has been trained to be a good listener, and as such lets the patient pour his heart out to him. On some occasions it may so happen that a few talking sessions give the patient’s troubled feelings an outlet and cures him. Alternatively, it is also possible that the psychotherapist hits upon some salient point during the patient’s conversations – this point may prove conducive in pinpointing the root cause of the attack and help the medical man formulate a rem acu tetigisti cure.

The best help that the psychotherapist offers, though, is to help the patient inculcate a methodology to think positive. This is the best possible panic attack treatment. The patient learns to recognize and separate the threads of his thoughts and be able, if possible, to delve into his mind and come up with the possible roots of his anxieties. Even if the cause is not exposed, the subject is tutored to strengthen his will power and to effect a control over his runaway panic.
This has often been referred to as Cognitive and Behavioural therapy.

Apart from sessions with the psychotherapist, self-help is also an able anxiety attack treatment. Intelligent lifestyle changes if incorporated by the patient can curb panic attacks like nothing else. Introducing more relaxation and more time for laughter and slumber in a patient’s timetable can assist in reducing stress. Physical exercises that relax the body and mind may be taken up. One’s diet ought to be controlled – it should especially be screened to oust caffeine-rich products like chocolates, tea, coffee, coke. Massages, spa treatments, saunas, long swims are also good ways to relax. Having a hobby helps, too. Riding one’s favourite horse of hobby can aid in leaving the demons of anxiety and panic far behind. Even listening to soothing music has therapeutic effects on the troubled mind.

If all else fails, medication for panic disorder can also be availed. Majorly, the Benzodiazepine and Buspirone group of drugs hold the fort here, though the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are popular, too.
These medicines are in general sedatives that work by calming the perturbed mind. However, they may be habit-forming, open to misuse and may also show withdrawal symptoms if intake is ceased abruptly.

Medication for panic disorder, therefore, is not generally prescribed as the only mode of treatment – it is used in combination with other therapeutic methods.

Some studies have shown that people tend to associate anxiety and panic attacks to be a form of mental disease, and as such, try concealing it. Not only does it increase the morbidity levels in the patient, but it also increases the chances of his mortality as in some severe panic attack cases, death can also result. Panic attack treatments, therefore, must be advertised widely and the psychotic disorder freed from its perceived stigma of a mental malady. Sufferers must be encouraged to come forward to avail treatment for a healthier world.