How to Help Panic Attacks – You Won’t Believe the Answer

A sudden feeling of dread and fear is called a panic attack. Nausea, dizziness and shortness of breath are its main characteristics. A person who is experiencing a panic attack may feel a feeling of going crazy and they may feel like they are dying. Panic attacks can be treated in several ways. Normally, doctors treat panic attacks through cognitive behavior therapy or medication.

The physicians may prescribe anti-anxiety medications or antidepressants to the patients in order to deal with panic attacks. For several weeks, one should take antidepressants to see their effect. During a panic attack, one can take anti-anxiety medications like benzodiazepines. A person can get rid of the symptoms quickly as they are very fast acting. However, addiction and withdrawal symptoms may occur for some people if they take anti-anxiety medicine in excess.

Cognitive behavior therapy is the most effective method to deal with panic attacks. How patients should change their thinking behaviors or patterns which cause panic attacks which are taught by this therapy. Exposure therapy is another useful method to deal with panic attacks.

In this kind of treatment a safe environment is created for the patient where he or she is encouraged to replicate the physical sensation of the panic attack. For example, the doctor may ask the patient to shake their head side to side, hyperventilate or may ask him/her to hold the breath. So while dealing with the fear in a controlled setting, patients are able to deal with it in a healthier way.

There are various reasons that can cause panic attacks among people. Panic attacks can be caused due to major changes in a person’s life, family history related to panic attacks or some medical conditions. Panic attacks can also get triggered due to serious stresses in life such as loss of a job, death in a family, or divorce.

Shortness of breath, numbness, physical detachment from the surroundings, nausea, dizziness, sweating, and chest pain, hot or cold flashes can be caused by panic attacks. A feeling of dying may also be experienced if a person is suffering from a panic attack. A person suffering from a panic attack may also think that he/she is experiencing a heart attack.

There is no particular time for a panic attack, it can occur any time while a person is sleeping, driving, working, shopping, sitting on a sofa or just preparing for some presentation. The time for which a majority of panic attacks can last is 20 to 30 minutes. However, a panic attack can last for an hour but it happens in rare cases.

Natural methods can also be tried in the treatment of panic attacks while a person is undergoing a treatment from the doctor. People can do some research on the topic and can read about the disorder so that they can learn how to deal with the problem of panic attacks. In order to deal with anxiety and stress, some relaxation techniques can also be learned by patients.

The other two ways by which panic attacks can be treated are by avoiding smoking and avoiding caffeine. Patients can also learn to control their breath as this method can help them to avoid hyperventilating whenever there are symptoms of panic attacks. If the panic attack sufferers learn deep breathing techniques then they can remain calm instead of suffering due to the symptoms of the attack.

If you would like to learn more about how to help panic attacks, make sure to checkout my free guide that reveals the methods to stop them from happening.