- Panic attack help

Panic Attack Help

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Panic attacks are debilitating and terrifying, but panic attack help is available. Stopping panic attacks before they start is the key to a panic free life.

Whether you seek outside professional help or opt for a self-help program, taking immediate action to stop panic attacks once and for all can be effective and permanent. Stopping panic attacks takes a little effort and commitment, but the success rate for treatment of panic disorder is very good.

Once a person has had one panic attack, fear of another sets in almost immediately. Paradoxically, that very fear (of having another panic attack) sets the person up for the next attack. Once the fear of an attack builds to a certain level, another attack is inevitable. Almost anything can trigger it.

Panic and anxiety work together to create a cycle that feeds off itself. Anxiety over the possibility of an attack builds until an attack occurs. This in turn creates even greater anxiety, which then creates more frequent and more intense attacks.

Panic attacks can feel so frightening and so physical that many panic attack sufferers end up in emergency rooms where expensive tests are run to rule out heart disease.

While it’s definitely a good idea to make sure you are not having a heart attack, such trips can become very disruptive both financially and emotionally. About 30% of all the money spent on mental health care in the U.S. is spent on anxiety and panic attacks, much of it on ER visits and tests to rule out physical illness.

The symptoms of a panic attack are very similar to heart attack, and include:

• Shortness of breath. Trouble catching one’s breath.
• Tightness in the chest. Pain in the chest.
• Tingling sensations or numbness in the arms, legs, hands, or face.
• Extreme fear.
• Sweating.
• Nausea and stomach pain.
• Intestinal distress.
• Racing thoughts.
• Obsessive negative thoughts.
• Dizziness and confusion.

The good news is that panic attack help is very effective and widely available. Short term Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has an excellent success rate with panic disorder, and is sometimes combined with temporary drug therapy. Antidepressant drugs in the SSRI or MAOI category may be used while therapy is taking place to give the client some immediate relief.

CBT works by ‘reframing’ the way the panic attack sufferer views the world and the possibility of an attack. CBT has several advantages over conventional psychotherapy:

• CBT is results-oriented, focusing on making specific behavioral changes as opposed to indulging in long-term introspection.
• CBT is usually a short course of therapy.
• CBT is a one-time therapy. Clients don’t have to keep coming back once the panic attacks have been successfully ended.
• CBT is usually more affordable than conventional psychotherapy and is often covered by insurance.

Self-help programs are even more affordable and available than CBT. Some of the best can be downloaded in a matter or minutes. Most self-help programs focus on a step-by-step method of stopping the fear of a repeat attack. Some good self-help panic attack programs include the Easy Calm program, the Linden Method, and Panic Away.

Hypnotherapy is another option that can be very effective in ending panic attacks. Richard MacKenzie’s self-hypnosis MP3 audios are affordable and can be used at the client’s own convenience.