Panic Attacks Help

Those suffering from panic attacks will be intimately familiar with the symptoms such as shortness of breath, pounding heart, dizziness, and stomach issues that are associated with this problem. However it’s likely that an outsider may not understand that, panic attacks are a very private thing. The individual who is suffering from them is usually concerned or even intensely worried about an irrational fear. Deep down inside they most likely know it is irrational but, this does not prevent them in fearing it. They normally feel an element of shame or embarrassment about how far their fear has developed and how much it has affected their life. The unfortunate truth is that because of this, a large percentage of sufferers never seek panic attack help. Those who manage to seek help often find it in a variety of ways.

Most doctors and specialists have agreed that the best kind of panic disorder or panic attack help is provided through a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapies. On most occasions a person can find the help they need simply by becoming informed and gaining an understanding of what panic attacks are or what a panic disorder is. This cognitive restructuring helps to change the way that person is thinking;

they are not going crazy.
they are not having a heart attack.
and they are not going to die from a panic attack.

Cognitive therapies help sufferers to replace their negative thoughts with more positive and realistic thoughts. By changing the associations they have attached to the very things that bring on the attacks helps remove or diminish the root cause. For example someone who fears death and gets bodily feelings that they attach to the thought that something is wrong with them, can bring on a panic attack. By changing these neurological associations the sufferer eventually is able to recognize these bodily feelings or sensations as not being life threatening. What you focus on becomes real to you. It has been shown that through a constant negative thought process a panic attack sufferer who is worried about specific health problems for example can actually bring on the physical sensations through a constant focus on them and the vicious circle continues.

Conversely behavioral therapies focus on exposure to the actual physical sensations that someone actually experiences when they are having a panic attack. The majority of people are not actually afraid of the experience or object, they are more afraid of the attack itself. For example they may not be afraid of the people in a social setting, but they are afraid of having a panic attack in a social environment. These behavioral therapies deal with exposing a panic attack sufferer to the symptoms of the attack whilst in a controlled environment and then allowing the person to see that symptoms such as an increased heart rate or hot flushes do not always develop into a full blown panic attack.

Behavioral therapies also involve the sufferer being allowed to go through small manageable steps of the situation or action they are afraid of. Once again, using our social setting example, these particular practices involve for instance, just getting in the car to go to an event or party. This then allows the sufferer to just deal with the emotions and feelings of just being in the car in isolation. Soon enough they learn to not focus on the situation that awaits them or the consequences of their fear. This is an important achievement as a lot of what a panic disorder is about, is to do with anticipating an attack before it happens, so by dong this they quickly learn that sitting in the car will not bring about a panic attack. During these types of therapies each individual goes through similar steps in their own time and at their own pace. One sufferer may need to arrive at a social setting, stay for ten to fifteen minutes and then leave a dozen times or more, before they start to show decent progress. Whilst some other person may be able to force themselves through the situation with increased heart rate and palpitations and maybe even other symptoms before they learn that they were able to get through the event and that the next one will be easier.

Those suffering panic attacks may also find the help that they need from medication. Medication is often used to control the symptoms of panic attacks. Medications can also limit the quantity of panic attacks as well as their intensity. Also, they will reduce the level of fear and anxiety that is associated with onset of another attack. Relaxation techniques may sometimes help a sufferer deal with an attack. Certain relaxation techniques include positive visualization and diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Attending a support group or belonging to an online or offline community of other people who suffer from panic attacks can be extremely helpful.

Despite the fact that panic attacks are often a very private thing, it does affect a large number of people. Because of the fact that there are so many people that are affected by panic attacks or panic disorders a sufferer is going to find it much easier to get the help and support they need.

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