panic disorder treatment

Finding a Panic Disorder Treatment is imperative to living a happier, more fulfilling life. So what is Panic Disorder? First off let's define what Panic Disorder is. More thoroughly, lets first describe a mental disorder. A mental disorder is a psychological or behavioral pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. The recognition and understanding of mental disorders have changed over time and across cultures so this will probably happen with the terms for Panic Disorder.

Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress.The key being repeated or multiple episodes. If you have had a panic attack once or a few times you do not have panic disorder.

The symptoms of a panic attack can mimic more serious illnesses such as a heart attack or a thyroid problem or some type of bronchial condition, so it is very important that if you are having these symptoms to seek a doctor and have the pertinent tests run to rule out these conditions.

The key and also the worst part of having panic disorder is that it means you are having multiple panic attacks and that you are now starting to fear the next one. So much so that you will start to change your daily habits or the places that you will go and the things that you will do. This fear of the next panic attack is sometimes stronger than having the actual panic attack itself. Fear becomes fear of fear and this can parallyze a person into staying away from all things that might cause them to have the next panic attack. The essential elements to panic disorder treatment is to eliminate the fear of having the next panic attack and the fear of the symptoms of the panic attack, which never actually hurt you.

Panic Disorder Treatment is taking on the causes of the panic attack itself and then breaking these down and showing the patient that he/she is not in danger. Understanding by the patient eases their fear by showing and explaining what exactly is going on in the mind and brain as the panic attack unfolds. Also showing the patient that other factors are involved helps he/she to make changes in their reaction and sometimes in their life to help eliminate the next panic attack.

There are now considered to be three main factors that contribute to panic disorders. These three areas have been studied and analyzed to help in understanding the underlying causes of panic disorder.They are as follows:

1. Psychological

Our psychological state has been shown to be very instrumental in having our first panic attacks. Usually the person is going through a very stressful time in their lives such as losing a job, losing a loved one, or an important relationship is coming to an end. Being under stress for a prolonged period of time can also be the trigger. It is common for the person to be in a depressed state due to these life events. Depression has shown to be an anxiety producing state in an of itself, coupled with other events can lower our belief in ourselves and induce anxiety and panic.

2. Physical

There has been shown a strong correlation of anxiety in families. The heredity factor is strong with anxiety, but it has not yet been determined that this is because of a genetic trait or from being raised by an anxious person. Either way, the evidence has shown this is a powerful indicator for your likelihood of having panic disorder. Most likely though you may be more succeptable to having panic disorder but a life event or events trigger an over-resonse to anxiety in the brain which causes you to be sensitive to normal situations.

3. Physiological

This is the more difficult to understand factor but lets just say that it usually is a combination of several things acting individually and he/she puts the two symptoms together to cause a third symptom. A typical example is one that I have suffered with and that is while exercising if I push myself too far or too fast my heart will race, as it should do. But if I am in thinking too much about it I will start to think that it won't slow down to normal or that I am becoming weak, or about to pass out. This now starts me on the path of the panic attack which really had no reason to come on without my misinterpreting my normal bodily functions. Random thoughts and thinking too much become a bad habit that can eventually lead to panic disorder.

To find a Panic Disorder Treatment that works for you it must take on all three factors of the panic attack. The three factors become so intertwined that they must all be challenged at the same time. It is important to take on Panic Disorder as soon as you can since the longer you go the more entrenched it can become in your thinking. This can lead to you aquiring other phobias which will have to be taken on also. This in turn can than lead you into panic attacks from phobias. This can start a long chain of fears that all lead to panic disorder.

There are several panic disorder treatments but most or all include psychotherapy and cognitive behaviour therapy. This helps the patient to understand what is going on before, during and after a panic attack and also to take a different approach to the upcoming panic attack. Usually what is going on in our minds leading up to the panic attack has as much to do with it as what triggered it, so we are taught different techniques to stop our negative thoughts and to learn to relax or float through the actual panic attack.

If you are suffering from Panic Disorder I beg you to seek some help. Either find a qualified doctor who has experience with treating panic disorder or read as much as possible on the subject. Panic Disorder Treatments are now available in many places and in many forms, find one that works for you. The sooner you do the sooner you can get back to living a normal life.