Reclaim your natural life: get rid of panic disorder or anxiety attacks

Panic attacks or anxiety attacks are very sudden, discrete period of discomfort, fear, stomach problems accompanied by a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms such as:

•     Palpitations, pounding heart

•    Sweating

•    Shaking

•    Feeling of choking

•    Chest pain

•    Fear of losing control

•    Fear of dying

•    Chills

•    Sensations of shortness of breath.

•    Feeling dizzy, unsteady, and faint
According to the American Psychological Association, the symptoms of panic attacks generally stay for thirty minutes, but it may last as short as fifteen minutes or last long for some hours. According to DSM-IV-TR, major types of anxiety disorder include:

•    Generalized Anxiety Disorder

•    Social Phobia

•    Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder

•    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

•    Specific Phobia
The exact causes of Panic attacks are still unknown but genetics, biochemistry, family history, environmental change; stressful lifestyle may all add up to anxiety attacks. A physical and psychological evaluation can diagnose the anxiety symptoms. But before making a diagnostic test to treat anxiety attacks, it is important to find out the context in which panic attack is being experienced.  Three types of anxiety attacks are there:

•    Spontaneous attacks which happens suddenly with no associative cause.

•    Situationally bound attacks which occur anticipating some events, like one may have attacks from the fear to enter into an elevator.

•    Situationally predisposed attacks occur when in presence of the actual situation one experiences attack for an extended period of time. Like someone may have an attack after reaching a high area from the fear from height.

Fortunately there is a good list of panic attack cures to treat difficult types of anxiety attacks, such as

•    Psychotherapy: According to the American Psychiatric Association, a specific form of psychotherapy called “Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy” is the most effective cure to panic disorder. The objective of this therapy is to gain control over someone’s reaction to sudden situations so as to reduce the feeling of helplessness. Several reports say that another useful psychotherapy is “Panic Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy”.

•    Natural healthy lifestyle: The easiest medication is to give you a natural, balanced way of living. A healthy diet, regular exercise, and normal lifestyle can contribute effectively to keep away panic disorder. Besides, one has to completely avoid caffeine and alcohol, soda and sugar plus fruit juices.  Junk food has a high Glycemic index (GI) which is more susceptible to panic attacks. It is advisable to take more fruits, vegetables which have low GI. One may also go for raw vegetarian diet which is not cooked at all. A little daily exercise like walking, cycling can also help to get rid of the Cortisol build up that happens during a panic attack.

•    Medicines: Panic disorder is also clinically treated by altering the following brain chemicals:

1.    Serotonin: This brain chemical plays a role in modulating anxiety, mood, sleep, appetite and    sexuality.

2.    Norepinephrine, which influences sleep and alertness.

3.    Dopamines influences body movement and are also believed to be involved in motivation, reward reinforcement and addictive behaviors.

4.    Azapirones (Buspirone) is commonly used to treat Generalized panic disorder and it takes long time to be effective

5.    Beta Blockers: Beta blockers, including propranolol (Inderal) and atenolol (Tenormin) can only fight the psychological symptoms of anxiety.

6.    Atypical Antipsychotics: This is mainly used to treat depressive disorders.

So there are varieties of medicines available to treat anxiety attacks, but to get started rightly one should to go for recommended anxiety treatment centers only. The Anxiety Disorder Association of America provides expert anxiety treatment centers which deliver first class psychological treatments for adults, adolescents, and children.

According to National Institute of Mental Health, about 2.7% of adult population in U.S is suffering from panic disorder. Women are twice more prone to anxiety attacks than men. So sooner the treatment starts the faster you get rid of it. Remember, the best gift you can give you and your family is your health. So maintenance of a healthy lifestyle is always preferable and it is the secret of long and healthy life.