Stop Panic Attacks By Treating The Underlying Cause

A panic attack is characterized by symptoms of panic when there is no external cause for it. The symptoms include increased or decreased heart beat rate, fast breathing or breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness, nausea, sweating, or numbness. These symptoms can last for ten minutes or continue for a few hours. The patient also fears a recurrence of the attack and, therefore, avoids certain situations.

As these attacks can occur due to physical causes such as hyperthyroidism, heart problems, or breathing problems, these should be ruled out first. If one of these is the cause for the panic attack, then you can stop panic attack by treating that cause.

There could be psychological cause for the anxiety attack such as a depression or other mood disorder. These are treated through anxiety cures such as such as antidepressants with mixed neurotransmitter effects, for instance venlafaxine (Effexor), Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), for instance Tofranil, Norpramin, or Anafranil, and Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), for instance Marplan, Nardil, or Parnate.

Panic disorder medication on the other hand consists of either selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), for instance Prozac, Zoloft, or Paxil or benzodiazepines, for instance Xanax, Valium, Ativan, or Klonopin.

Whether it is panic disorder or anxiety disorder the key is to combine medication with cognitive therapy. This will help to both reduce the frequency of attacks and the duration of the attacks. The combination is best for most patients. Psychiatric treatment and therapy can also involve the entire family. This is called family therapy.

Alternatively, the patient can join a self help support group and attend group therapy sessions as well.

Besides these more formal forms of treatment informal treatments include exercise and dietary changes. Eating a balanced diet can help reduce the frequency of anxiety attacks as can regular exercise. Exercise releases very beneficial hormones that help reduce the occurrence of panic attacks.

Relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises and yoga and meditation can also help control panic disorder. Yoga and mediation both reduce stress levels in the body, thereby, controlling the occurrence of panic or anxiety disorders. Music too helps reduce stress levels. Just tune in to your favorite form of music and relax. It is important to note here that both the mind and the body should relax.

All these steps taken in conjunction with each other will help reduce panic and anxiety disorder occurrences. Though there is no permanent cure for these disorders, there is plenty of help available to help a patient cope with everyday life and lead a normal life.

Most patients need to be on medication for about a year while some have to continue with the medication for a longer period of time. In any case early treatment of the disorder helps the patient a lot.

Another thing that one should keep in mind is that the patient is likely to comply with this rigorous course of treatment better if they are kept informed about the progress they are making. It is best to take the patient into confidence about the state of their mental health and counsel them adequately. The patient will appreciate not being kept in the dark about their illness.

The final reason for panic or anxiety attacks could be too muck intake of nicotine or caffeine. This too can lead to panic and anxiety attacks. It is best to reduce your intake of these substances if you suffer from such attacks. Substance abuse, especially the use of banned or prohibited substances, too could lead to panic attacks and must be ruled out before psychiatric treatment and counseling begins.

As a patient you should not lose heart if the treatment does not start working immediately. It might take some time for the medicines to become effective. This depends on how long you have been suffering from this disorder. Early intervention is the best and safest means of treatment. However, even if the diagnosis has been delayed treatment is possible and should be tried with full confidence.

Please do remember that as a patient you must co-operate fully and properly for the treatment to be most effective. This is imperative as not much can be achieved by way of an effective cure without your full co-operation.