A Panic attack is a relatively common psychological disorder which affects millions of people world-wide. It is characterized by a sudden onset of fear and extreme anxiety along with various other symptoms like palpitations, nausea, improper vision and hyperventilation. Due to the common symptoms, first time sufferers tend to confuse them with heart attacks. While panic attacks do not cause any physical harm; they can lead to deep psychological problems and can seriously inhibit the social and professional lives of the people who suffer from them. The major causes of panic attacks and the various panic attack treatments are detailed below.
Causes of Panic Attacks:
A panic attack is caused by the untimely release of chemicals like Adrenaline and Noradrenaline into the blood stream by an overactive sympathetic nervous system. This nervous system imbalance can be caused by a variety of factors, viz. heredity, stress, phobias, genetic predisposition, vitamin B deficiency, certain prescription medications and other psychiatric disorders like OCD and Bipolar Disorder. It is estimated that 20% of the adult population of the United States will experience panic attacks at some point in their lives.
Panic Attack Treatments:
- Diet: A healthy and nutritious diet is the foundation of any panic attack treatment plan. It has been proven that a diet rich in minerals like Magnesium and Potassium helps reduce the incidence of panic attacks. Also, stimulants like caffeine and alcohol are known to exacerbate nervous system imbalances leading to increased panic attacks. Hence, they must be strictly avoided.
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy: It is the most popular panic attack treatment in use today. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy treatment which is mainly used to reduce anxiety and help the sufferer cope with future panic attacks. It includes various relaxation techniques and group therapy sessions that help the patient discover the conditions/situations that trigger panic attacks and also teaches them to face these situations calmly; leading to a significant reduction in the magnitude of panic attacks.
- Medications: The use of medications as a panic attack treatment is only suggested in the case of recurring panic attacks or a full blown panic disorder. The medications used to treat panic attacks are either SSRIs(Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) and benzodiazepine medications like clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan) and alprazolam (Xanax). Improper and long term use of these medications can lead to very serious side-effects and even addiction. Hence, they must only be used under strict medical supervision.
Using a combination of the above-mentioned panic attack treatment techniques tends to be much more effective in solving the problem.