Panic Disorder Treatments

There are quiet a few panic disorder treatments, but how do you know which one will work best for you? That is a common challenge that many people face, and there really is no one-size-fits-all answer to solve this dilemma.

However, it is very possible to treat panic disorder successfully. What’s most important is that you make an informed decision, and not just take some “magic pill” that promises you to calm and soothe your psyche.

What Is Panic Disorder?

Panic disorder is a condition during which a person suffers from extreme and intense fear repeatedly. This fear comes repeatedly in the form of attacks that last anywhere from a couple of minutes, to several hours – the usual time span being around 20 minutes.

Panic Disorder Treatments

The most common panic disorder treatments are anti-anxiety medication, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and antidepressants in cases where people also suffer from depression due to their panic attacks.

Medication can in most cases effectively reduce the anxiety and calm people down – but the problem is that it can be very easy to develop an addiction to these drugs. That is why they should only be taken temporarily, and not over long, extended periods of time. Common medications are benzodiazepines – particularly Xanax. However, experts are not agreeing whether benzodiazepines are effective for panic disorder treatments. Some say they are not at all, some they are effective in the short-term, and some say they are an effective long-term treatment.

According to myAddiction.com “drugs like Ativan, Valium, and Xanax are increasingly leading to deep psychological trauma, addiction, and unpredictable behavior in many of the users.”

Behavioural therapy is growing in popularity both among patients and therapists because it has shown again and again to increase the effectiveness of panic disorder treatments.

The term describes a set of therapeutic interventions like controlled exposure to the panic-trigger, relaxation techniques, pleasant mental imagery and cognitive restructuring.

One study published in February 2008 showed that CBT has success rates of 70-90%. Interoceptive therapy, which is a particular kind of CBT has shown to be effective in 87% of patients. The way it works is basically that it the experience of a panic attack is simulated in a controlled environment. This makes it possible for the patients to experience the feelings of panic attacks in a safe environment, thus making it easier for the patients to deal with, and control the out-of-control feeling of panic. For example, patients hyperventilate in the presence of the therapist. The hyperventilation creates a slight sensation of dizziness and blurred vision, which are partly phenomena that appear during panic attacks.

This helps the patients to learn to get a better grip on separate aspects of their panic attacks, which will in turn help them to deal with them better in the process.

Panic disorder treatments can help help to prevent panic attacks, and/or reduce their severity. Both men and women can suffer from panic disorder, although it is more commonly found in women. It is not known why some people get panic attacks – but successful treatments are possible, even without knowing the causing conditions of this psychological problem.

images: Viktors Kozers