Panic Attacks can be Reduced a Few Better Ways

Panic attacks are no more a taboo these days. The medical advancement has led to its cure. You have the option of curing it either with medicine or some other therapies and meditation.
There is a huge variety of medication for panic disorder available in the market. However, you should consult your doctor before you select any one of these to treat panic attacks. These are effective and if combined with some relaxation therapies, there is not other treatment better than this. The medications that are used to treat panic attacks often belong to a class of medicines called SSRIs. The full form of SSRI is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. Some of the common examples of SSRIs are Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.

Doctors, instead of SSRIs can also prescribe you another class of panic medication called the Benzodiazepines. Some of the examples of Benzodiazepines are Xanax, Ativan, Valium, and Klonopin.

Following is a list of medication that is used for the treatment of panic disorder:

Antidepressants with mixed neurotransmitter effects, example venlafaxine
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors or MAOIs - Marplan, Parnate and Nardil
Tricyclic antidepressants or TCAs - examples Tofranil, Anafranil and Norpramin

Most doctors or medical professionals prescribe medications and counseling such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of panic disorders. Counseling aims at modifying certain behavior patterns and thinking of the patient. It is a known fact that the re occurrences of panic attacks is considerable reduced by using medications and counseling methods. Most medications that are used for the treatment of panic disorder can be continued for a year and then reduced gradually. The dependency on the medications must be removed as soon as the patient finds that the panic attacks have stopped completely.

You would be required to visit the doctor quite frequently while you are into panic attack treatments. This is done in order to map your progress in the healing process. If the doctor finds that there is no progress actually not happening, he might either change the medicine or increase the dosage. Sometimes what happen is, people might stop the medication if they feel that everything is fine. However, you should carry on with the prescription till the recommended period.

If the frequency of panic attacks increases alarmingly, you may need to be hospitalized for some time till the symptoms of the panic attacks do not subside. Along with the treatment, the doctors will give you tips and methods of handling certain situations that may trigger the panic attacks. If you know the reasons of the panic attacks then avoiding such circumstances is the best way to tackle the panic attacks. Beware of some quacks who claim that surgery is the best option to cure panic disorders. As of today, there is no surgical treatment for panic disorders.

Its not only medicines that are beneficial in treating panic attacks, but there are several other methods to add to it. For example, relaxation exercise. A 15 – 20 minutes session can help you heal faster. Although there are many, the most common relaxation exercises are deep breathing and muscle relaxation. Another quick, good and easy method is physical exercise. It also help boost up your healing process. Another aspect is a good balanced diet. You should include fresh fruits in your diet as keep away from oily and hi calorie diet.

Effectiveness of a medicine is something else and side effects are something else. Panic attack medication have tremendous side effects. These are so serious that they can bring about life altering changes. Hence, many people, after discovering these side effects, stop the consumption of medicines. That is not something that you should do. You can report the same to your doctor and if he feels the same, he would either change the prescription or would reduce the doses.

People are becoming more and more creative and are applying their creativity in the medical field as well. The result is an innovative technique that exploits the fact that distracting the mind towards something pleasant so as to avoid those stressful situations that can fire a panic attack. This is the distraction technique.

Patience is the key factor in the treatment of panic disorders. You have to constantly tell your self that nothing is wrong with you and you are perfectly normal. Fear is from within the mind and training the mind can help control the symptoms of panic attacks. Most often the medications prescribed by the doctors are long term medications and they take their time to show the positive effects.

By Beth Kaminski
Published: 8/25/2009
 
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