Your Options For Panic Disorder Treatment
Panic attacks, also called anxiety attacks, affect 1.
5% of the American population, and about 1 in 75, worldwide.
It affects twice as many women as men, although even male sufferers are just as debilitated by it.
So, what are your options for panic disorder treatment? A correct diagnosis is paramount.
If you are suffering from shortness of breath, feeling like you are suffocating and are experiencing tingling in the arms, you would not be out of line to wonder if you are having a heart attack.
But that may not be the problem, at all.
You might be having a stress-induced panic attack.
And, thinking that you are having a heart attack adds to the stress that brought on the panic attack, in the first place! The symptoms of panic disorder mimic other, more serious afflictions, which simply does not help the sufferer's ability to cope with their panic.
Treatment for this condition relies heavily on two things: cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication.
The medications widely used for treatment are SSRI's, the serotonin reuptake inhibitors-antidepressants.
Anti-anxiety medications are also used for panic disorder treatment, medications such as alprazolam and clonazepam.
However, these kinds of medications are tricky to prescribe correctly, as no one person's chemical makeup is the same as anyone else's.
Finding the right medication is only the first step.
And finding the right dosage is vital.
It can take quite awhile to find the right combination.
On top of that, medication cannot help, all by itself.
Therapy sessions with a good psychologist or counselor of some sort, is absolutely necessary for relieving panic disorder.
Treatment involving talk therapy will go a long way towards helping a person understand--the panic attack causes are about what is really going on inside their heads that makes them have panic attacks in the first place.
5% of the American population, and about 1 in 75, worldwide.
It affects twice as many women as men, although even male sufferers are just as debilitated by it.
So, what are your options for panic disorder treatment? A correct diagnosis is paramount.
If you are suffering from shortness of breath, feeling like you are suffocating and are experiencing tingling in the arms, you would not be out of line to wonder if you are having a heart attack.
But that may not be the problem, at all.
You might be having a stress-induced panic attack.
And, thinking that you are having a heart attack adds to the stress that brought on the panic attack, in the first place! The symptoms of panic disorder mimic other, more serious afflictions, which simply does not help the sufferer's ability to cope with their panic.
Treatment for this condition relies heavily on two things: cognitive-behavioral therapy and medication.
The medications widely used for treatment are SSRI's, the serotonin reuptake inhibitors-antidepressants.
Anti-anxiety medications are also used for panic disorder treatment, medications such as alprazolam and clonazepam.
However, these kinds of medications are tricky to prescribe correctly, as no one person's chemical makeup is the same as anyone else's.
Finding the right medication is only the first step.
And finding the right dosage is vital.
It can take quite awhile to find the right combination.
On top of that, medication cannot help, all by itself.
Therapy sessions with a good psychologist or counselor of some sort, is absolutely necessary for relieving panic disorder.
Treatment involving talk therapy will go a long way towards helping a person understand--the panic attack causes are about what is really going on inside their heads that makes them have panic attacks in the first place.
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