Overcoming Panic Attacks – Panic Treatment Options

The most obvious reason to seek treatment for panic attacks is to eliminate the crippling impact it can have on your life.

But an equally important reason is that without treatment, panic attack sufferers risk developing even more serious anxiety-based disorders and behavioral problems.

It is essential to seek a treatment to overcome panic attacks that will address current symptoms and prevent them worsening.

As with treatments for other conditions, it is important to find the right panic/anxiety treatment for you – a treatment that is not only effective but one you are comfortable with.

Here are the main options for the treatment of panic attacks and anxiety:

Anti-anxiety medications

There are many drugs available that treat panic attacks specifically or in the process of treating related conditions. For instance, many anti-depressants also have a positive impact on anxiety and panic attacks.

Drugs specifically for anxiety included Ativan, taken “as needed” at the onset of a panic attack, and Valium (diazepam), used to reduce general anxiety levels.

While drug-based panic treatments can be helpful there are two major drawbacks.

Firstly, drug treatments address the symptoms of anxiety, such as panic attacks, but not the root causes of anxiety.

Secondly, there is a high risk of becoming dependant on some commonly-prescribed anti-anxiety drugs.

Hypnosis – Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis is a completely natural and for many, highly effective option for treating panic attacks. Hypnotherapy combats anxiety by inducing deep relaxation, allowing underlying causes to be explored and responses to be retrained through hypnotic suggestion.

Ironically, anxiety can be an obstacle to the effectiveness of hypnosis – sufferers find it more difficult than most to relax and “give themselves up” to the hypnotherapist.

Another limitation is that while hypnosis is effective at treating generalized anxiety it is far less effective (and potentially dangerous) at treating anxiety accompanied with acute panic attacks. In these cases, reputable hypnotherapists tend to accept patients only if they are also receiving professional counseling or cognitive therapy.

Self-hypnosis exercises practiced in the safe and familiar environment of home can provide some relief from anxiety but again, does little for acute anxiety expressed as panic attacks.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

In a nutshell, cognitive therapy treats anxiety (and many other disorders) by identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking. The idea is that thoughts determine our emotions and behavior. By changing the way a person thinks about a situation, their responses to it – their emotions and behavior – will also change.

Cognitive therapy for anxiety and panic attack sufferers typically involves exercises with timetables to ensure progress but it can be a lengthy process. However, it is an anxiety treatment that safely and effectively addresses the root causes of anxiety and provides a lasting, usually life-long solution.