Anxiety Disorder – What Kind Of Help For Panic Attacks Is There?

It would be surprising for most people to get the statistics on the number of people undergoing anxiety disorder therapy.  What most people think is a rare and strange ailment is actually a lot more common than we think.

Anxiety disorder is a broader term for a multitude of varied psychological ailments that can be seriously disturbing to the patient’s daily living.  These range from the often-heard-of panic attacks to the lesser understood Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  One thing these psychological conditions have in common is that they all derive and are based on fear and anxiety.

Anxiety disorder therapy is pretty diverse and the type employed depends a lot on what the causes and type of anxiety disorder suffered from.  Therapy can be used on those suffering from:

1.    Panic disorder.  This is also known as panic attack.  Exceedingly unexpected and equally unpleasant, panic disorder can be highly dangerous to the sufferer as they can strike at any time – at work, home or even while driving.  Help for panic attacks are a lot more accessible than treatment for the rest as panic attacks are the most common types of anxiety disorder.

2.    Social anxiety disorder.  This manifests in the patient having an intense fear of public scrutiny, mainly because he or she perceives that scrutiny as being negative.  Most of the time, the patient is worried he or she may be humiliated or embarrassed as a result of being public. This is a difficult anxiety disorder to diagnose as most would term it as the patient being exceptionally “shy” but the signs should be an extreme reluctance to go out in public, no matter what.

3.    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  This is best depicted by TV detective Adrian Monk, from the TV show Monk, albeit a little comically.  In reality, this obsessive behavior is not anything to be amused at.  The disorder is borne out of fear and need to perfect a certain condition or situation at all times.  This is characterized by repetitions of everyday habits – locking and unlocking the door five times every time it needs to be locked, for instance, or not walking on cracks on floors and sidewalks.

4.    Phobias.  Essentially fears of specific things, like heights, confined space or even bodily fluid, it is not so much the facing of these things that throws a patient into a frenzy but the anticipation of facing them.

5.    Agoraphobia.  Lesser known than the ordinary phobia, agoraphobia is best described as the fear of being held captive in a current environment and requires a constant need of an exit or escape.  One of its clearest manifestations is to always sit closest to the exit or in view of it.

6.    Separation anxiety.  In very young children, this is a normal occurrence but when the person experiencing separation anxiety is a full-fledged adult, it calls for some concern.  As its name connotes, this is an inability to leave a person or place.  Although this is a normal behavioral development in children, in some cases, it can be really excessive, which calls for some kind of anxiety disorder therapy.  This is one disorder that is known to exist in both children and adults.

7.    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Sometimes, a person suffers from anxiety disorder following a truly traumatic experience like being held hostage, rape, war or watching a loved one perish in front of their very eyes.  The most common signs are nightmares and constant flashbacks that happen when they are awake.

While on their own, any of these are a severe enough case for a practiced psychologist to treat, patients may manifest more than one disorder.  They may be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with panic disorder, for instance – with the former leading on to the latter.

Anxiety disorder therapy can range from conventional medication to holistic approaches.  In both, counseling sessions are paramount to finding a permanent cure for the disorder.  This is particularly so for those suffering from panic disorder.  All psychologists believe that help for panic attacks begin by identifying the triggers and this can only happen with a committed and constant exploration into the patients’ experiences.

Anxiety disorder therapy can be pretty simple for less severe cases.  Some holistic approaches may be more helpful for these types of disorder.  These include meditation and yoga, which is sworn by holistic practitioners as a truly effective way of maintaining some level of balance and control in emotions.

When the anxiety disorder is more manageable, milder courses of action can be taken.  The patient’s medications may be reduced to avoid over-dependency.  However, their counseling sessions will continue – although they may be somewhat reduced in frequency.
Help for panic attacks, for instance, can be minimized to soothing words and reminders to breathe deeply.