Anxiety Attack Medications Cannot Cure You All By Itself

Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal fears and anxieties. To get anxiety disorder help, one must know the different types of anxiety disorder in the first place. They are as follows:

1.    Generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by long lasting anxieties, which is not focused on any subject or situation. The sufferers experience non-specific persistent fears and worries and become overtly concerned about insignificant matter.

2.    In a panic disorder, the person suffers from intense terror and apprehension often accompanied by trembling, shaking, confusion, dizziness, nausea, difficulty in breathing. A panic attack abruptly appears and peaks within ten minutes and lasts for several hours. It can be triggered by fear, stress and even exercise, though apparent cause is not always clear.

3.    Phobia includes all cases in which fear or anxiety is triggered by a specific stimulus or situation

4.    Agoraphobia is the fear of being in places from where escaping is difficult or impossible. Such sufferers need to be constantly in view of a door or other escape route.

5.    Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia describes a fear of negative public scrutiny, embarrassment or humiliation.

6.    Obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by repetitive obsessions and compulsions,

7.    Post-traumatic stress disorder, as the name suggests are result of a traumatic experience.

8.    Separation anxiety arises from fear of separation from a person or a place.

There cannot be one single anxiety disorder help because each anxiety disorder has a specific symptom. Yet, some broad treatment options are:

1.    life style changes

2.    pharmaceutical therapy

3.    psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy

The importance of cognitive behavioral therapy as anxiety disorder help cannot be over emphasized. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. The goal of cognitive therapy is to change unwanted or disturbing thought pattern and the goal of behavioral therapy is to gain control over the thought pattern. In cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT, the patient is actively involved in his recovery, He is taught to master his own thought process. He learns to identify and modify is behavioral pattern. This helps him master all sorts of anxiety disorder, including panic disorder treatment.

In fact, it happens many times that when a person speaks of an anxiety attack, he means panic attack. Panic disorder is real and potentially disabling, but can be controlled and successfully treated. Before trying to find the cure for panic disorder, one should learn to identify it. Identifying panic disorder itself is tough as its symptoms have a close proximity to the symptoms of some physical illness. Some of the common symptoms include:

1.    rapid heart beat

2.    perspiration

3.    dizziness

4.    dyspnea or shortness of breath

5.    trembling and shaking

6.    uncontrollable fear

7.    hyper ventilation

It so happens, people are often taken to hospital emergency room when they actually have a panic attack. As these symptoms often cause social embarrassment, panic disorder often cause agoraphobia as well as social phobia. Besides, growing number of evidence suggests a relationship between substance abuse, such as smoking, alcohol, sedatives and panic disorder. Therefore, it is important to make the correct diagnosis before thinking about any treatment or subsequent cure for panic disorder.

To diagnosis panic disorder, physical ailments must be ruled out first. This will need extensive medical tests. When all physical tests are ruled out, one must undertake to rule out all other psychological disorder. Once it is established that the person is actually suffering from panic disorder, actual treatment can start.

There are few anxiety attack medications.  However, please note that medication alone cannot help a panic disorder sufferer.  He needs cognitive behavioral therapy, assurance and understanding from his family and friends. In fact, if the condition is not acute, the sufferer may not need the medication at all. CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy, life style changes, exercise and yoga can improve his lot. Even if he is taking medication these therapeutic treatments must continue, for the medications to be fruitful.

The medications that can be used to treat anxiety attack or panic attack are:

1.    Antidepressants: if taken regularly these medicines alter the neurotransmitter configuration, which in turn may block the symptoms. Though termed as antidepressant all these medicines, especially the tricyclic antidepressants contain anti anxiety property.

2.    Anti anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines are prescribed to prevent panic attacks from occurring. Some doctors believe benzodiazepines can be taken for long term, while others disapprove of long turn use because one may develop tolerance to it. Benzodiazepines are also habit forming and one can suffer from withdrawal symptoms when it is finally taken off. Some sufferers take them on as needed basis.

To take or not to medication is for physicians to decide. If you are suffering from anxiety attack, know that it is just a physical disorder, not a weakness of character. So do not be embarrassed and accept that you have a disorder calmly.