Panic Attacks Disorder

 

Your first panic attack should be a learning experience that will help you control attacks in the future. Sometimes people with a panic attack go to the emergency room thinking they are having a heart attack as the symptoms are similar and come on suddenly. You’ll feel things like sudden periods of extreme fear, anxiety, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, rapid heart beat, hyperventilation, tingling sensation, nausea, etc. When they learn that it was a panic attack and knowing the difference they can start taking control of their future attacks. This is important because often a panic attack will keep you from even functioning.

Panic attacks are caused by many physical, mental and emotional triggers. Genetics may play a part and females are more apt to get them than men. Allergies or sensitivities to food, drink or chemicals can trigger an attack along with memories or trauma. Alcohol and drug can also cause panic attacks and disorders. Serious and upsetting experiences along with everyday events could trigger an attack.

Panic disorder may lead to “situational avoidance,” where the sufferer feels they have to avoid every place or situation in where attack has occurred and might not even leave their house which could be a very serious disruption to a normal life.

Control subjects were less likely to have panic attacks then patients with panic disorders after both drank a high amount of caffeine, according to results of a small study by Isabella Nascimento, MD, and colleagues at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil.

People who had went to a doctor for treatment told me that they were usually told they should avoid caffeine in colas, coffee, chocolate and teaI’ve talked with several people who gave me the following natural treatments they have used to cure or avoid panic attacks without using medicine.

Deep Breathing

One of the best forms of panic attack relief is to simply take deep, slow breaths to prevent hyperventilation. By getting hyperventilation under control you avoid things such as the dizziness and lightheadedness which happens because there is too much oxygen being taken to the brain at one time.

Exercise

This appears to be a one of the best ways of dealing with a panic attack once it’s started. An adrenaline rush usually accompanies an attack and the exercise can bleed it off according to people who use it.

Aroma therapy

After listening to a number of people talk about using aroma therapy to combat panic attacks it appears there are two schools of thought. The first swears by using smells that bring back pleasant memories, such as baby powder, certain flowers, farm animals or barbecuing. The others said that aromas from essential oils or candles were the best.

Meditation

This is a way that several people said helped them from having attacks or by being able to stop them once they started.

Think happy thoughts or take your mind off your problem

Others told me that once an attack started they tried to empty their mind of anything but pleasant things that they had done in the past and it appeared to help them. They also said taking your mind off the attack with things like counting backwards from one hundred was helpful.

The above ways are used by ordinary people to cure or get over a panic attack. In some cases they just can’t do it themselves and need professional help. Below is some information on several different natural methods used to cure people with panic disorders.

Getting Professional Help

Hypnosis

Diane Ulicsni, director of The Hypnosis Center in Lake Oswego, Ore., suffered from chronic panic attacks for many years. She finally found relief through hypnosis and is now a board certified hypnotherapist. She says that hypnosis — recognized by the American Medical Association since 1958 as a form of treatment — is one approach that is non-drug and can greatly ease or even cure panic attacks.

Laugh your panic attacks away?

That’s a good strategy, says Steve Sultanoff, PHD, a clinical psychologist in Irvine, Calif., and past president of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor. He uses humor visualization with his panic attack patients, telling them to imagine themselves in a situation where they’ve laughed uncontrollably. When they have a panic situation, they are able to return to the picture of themselves laughing.

Cognitive Behavorial Therapy

James D Herbert, PHD, associate professor of clinical psychology at MCP Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, says that cognitive behavioral therapy is his choice for treating panic disorders. Cognitive-behavior therapy is made up of two parts: One is to identify and modify the thinking patterns that produces anxiety (cognitive therapy), and lessening anxiety by exposing the patient to fearful scenarios (behavior therapy).

If you suffer from panic attacks try some of the treatments listed above. They have worked for people I talked with and maybe they’ll work for you too.

Sources

Natural Panic Attack Treatments http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/natural-panic-attack-treatments?page=1

James D Herbert, PHD http://www.academyofct.org/Library/InfoManage/Guide.asp?FolderID=153&SessionID=

 

 

 

 



By: Don Levy

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Panic attack can be an extremely frightening experience. Suddenly, your hit by a barrage of symptoms, you may feel like having a heart attack, suffocating, or losing control. This experience can be so traumatizing and real that you will feel like dieing right at that moment.

Panic attack can strike anytime, anywhere and to anyone. It don’t even need a reason to hit you. Although excessive stress can trigger a panic attack, it is completely random for most of the time.

However, once you experienced the first panic attack, the body will be put on “alert” status and the chances of having another attack is increased. This becomes a problem if panic attack occur again and again.

An important contributor to the occurrence of further panic attacks is related to where the first one occurred. For most, it happens in a place where they cannot escape easily: for example, in a train, bus, taxi, elevator, building. For example, if the panic attack occurred during a bus ride, chance are, you would be quite nervous during your next bus ride as you think panic attack might hit you again. The more nervous you are, the more likely another panic attack will happen.

With your initial experience with panic attack, you will most probably try to escape before you feel the attack coming on. Once out of the bus, the panic feeling subside and your worst fear is confirmed. You associate bus ride to your panic attack. A few more experiences confirms this and you avoid taking a bus altogether.

What I have just explained is a typical example of the development of panic attack and it can be applied to any situation. You have a panic attack at a particular place or situation. You link it to that place or situation and avoid it.

The main culprit here is fear. The fear and anxiety of having a panic attack causes it to happen. Panic attack feeds on fear and anxiety. The more your fearful of it happening, the harder and faster it will hit you. In order to control a panic attack and stop it forever, you need to attack its roots - fear.

The most effective way to stop panic attack forever is to KNOW that you will not be harmed. A large part of the fear comes from the fact that the sufferer thinks he is about to die, which is totally untrue!

Here’s a few FACTS about panic attack:

-Panic attack CANNOT cause heart attack

-Panic attack CANNOT cause suffocation

-Panic attack CANNOT make you faint

-Panic attack CANNOT cause you to go mad/crazy

Doesn’t feel like it? But its true! There more than enough medical evidence to prove all these. The symptoms feel unnatural because its a panic response from the body, your not suppose to feel it unless your in danger - which your not! Panic attack is the result of this “panic alarm” going off for the wrong reason. Use this knowledge to your advantage, KNOW that you are safe and panic attack cannot harm you. Don’t fear panic attack…and certainly don’t fear having one!



By: Andrew Lim

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Dsarsorito asked:

2001 interview with NKOTB members Jon Jordan Knight.

Panic attacks can strike at any time or any place. For people who are prone to them, they can rule their lives. For those who have had more than one panic attack, the fear that another will occur can be debilitating. Here is an FAQ on stopping panic attacks.

FAQ #1: What does a panic attack feel like?

A: During a panic or anxiety attack you can feel a range of feelings, both mental and physical. You may feel that the world is closing in on you. You might feel dizzy. Your heartbeat will likely be much, much faster than usual. You might feel a tingling in your chest. You may sweat. You may want to lie down and at the same time lose your ability to concentrate. Also, an acute fear of dying accompanies the panic attack for some people. Caution: If you do have a panic attack, be sure to remove yourself from a situation whereby you might be of a danger to others (such as driving a car).

FAQ #2: What causes panic attacks?

A: Physiologically, panic attacks usually involve an excess of adrenaline suddenly entering into your system, in combination with a number of other related factors going on in your body. The precise cause of panic attacks is still under study, but the cause does seem to vary from person to person. Some panic attacks seem to come on unexpectedly. Other may be triggered by a traumatic event, such as a car accident. Still others might be situation-specific, whereby the attack is triggered after a certain pattern of circumstances arises for the individual.

FAQ #3: Are panic attacks common?

A: Yes. The Merck Manual indicates that about one-third of adults experience a panic attack each year. Some people, however, have these attacks more frequently and can experience them many times in a given year or month.

FAQ #4: Should I avoid situations that cause them?

A: The common wisdom seems to be that eventually you should try to face situations that tend to trigger your panic attacks so that you can overcome them as triggers for the attack. However, this should be done with caution since you do not want to unnecessarily put yourself through a panic attack. Ask your doctor about this.

FAQ #5: How can I stop one?

A: Stopping a panic attack is not easy. In fact, they can seem to feed on themselves, whereby the more you try to control one the more it takes control. Panic attacks are difficult to stop sometimes because the attack itself causes a series of negative mental states in the person having the attack. Those negative mental states in turn keep the body (e.g., the adrenal glands, sweat glands, heart, breathing, etc.) in an agitated state. This vicious cycle can often be broke by relaxing, doing breathing exercises, and creating positive thought patterns to counter the negative mental activity that the attack can create.

Panic attacks can be one of the scariest experiences but do not always seem to have an obvious cause. This mysterious quality can actually make them even more feared, thereby making them harder to overcome when they do occur. Be sure to take control and do not let your panic attacks run your life. There are ways to overcome them.



By: Susan Willis

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Most people often wonder whether there is a connection between panic attacks and depression. Researchers and analysts feel that there is indeed a strong connection between both the conditions.

Here is a detailed description to make you understand better:

First, it has been proved via a research and strong analyze that chronic pain disorder can result into depression. The condition is most common in people who get exhausted easily from the chronic anxiety that accompanies panic attacks.

People who have developed a condition known as agoraphobia to a great extend are know to restrict themselves from socializing, driving or facing challenges of life. Agoraphobia is a condition where on tends to avoid certain activities due to a fear of panic attacks.

When panic attacks results into depression, patients usually complain this to their health care practitioners. They feel that the attack strike first and later comes the depression. They often feel that once they are relieved from panic attack or agoraphobia, they would be automatically relieved from depression.

Such patients would only be relieved when they are treated for panic disorders.

Some experts also feel that depression of an intense degree can give birth to panic attacks. There are people who get affected by depression and panic attacks at the same time. In case, the anxiety element of the depression is strong enough, then it is quite possible that the depression leads to panic attacks.

Under these circumstances, a patient is worried about the problems coming into his life. This leads to several stages of panic attacks. Here, the patient often experience feelings similar to death or going crazy without a specific reasons.

Another possibility is that some people suffer from panic disorder and depression that’s independent of each others. This means that these people may experience panic attacks sometimes when they are not depressed and they can experience a feeling of depression when they are not getting panic attacks.

Most people suffering from panic disorder can experience bouts of panic attacks due to several reasons such as a cold, hangover, depression, lack of sleep etc. This is because they are extremely sensitive to their bodies.

The best thing to do under these situations is to start a treatment that addresses to one’s specific problems. Fortunately, several treatment options are available these days to cure panic attacks and depression. You can purchase a lot of medications such as SSRIs and many more. You can also look forward to have psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy is great for both panic attack and depression.

The treatment for panic attacks and depression is very effective and widely available. One can choose from a combination of medication, relaxation techniques cognitive behavior therapy and much more.

However, to benefit from effective treatment, one requires to keep tabs on the potential symptoms of panic attacks and depression. This is the only way to treat the condition on time. Once you start the treatment, you will find it really relaxing. You will feel good from within. This is the key to ward off the condition.



By: Bertil Hjert

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