Avoiding Panic Attacks

Panic attack is a problem which can be seen in some of the people due to different reasons. In a panic attack, a person gets a high level of anxiety and feels that they are loosing their ability to think correctly and to make any wise decision. Some may not be able to breathe comfortably and the heart beat also rises significantly and in some cases, a person may also feel that they are about to die.

            Many may not be able to know when a panic attack may occur. It can also occur at a time when least expected even when a person may be sleeping or in a relaxing state. The attacks can be a repeated action or may only show up only once in the whole life. There are however some common reasons which can cause a panic attack. It could be possible that a person is scared of something for example height. Now whenever they may pass a high altitude place, the attack can show its effects. It is often a situation where person may feel completely helpless and no way out of it.

There are some common symptoms of a panic attack and either all the symptoms can show up or only some of them in any combination. A usual period for a panic attacks is not considered more than 20 to 30 minutes and it reached its peak level after about half of this time. The common symptoms of a panic attack include choking feeling, pain in the chest, shaking, dizziness etc. Many of the other symptoms are also related to physical behavior rather than any mental problem. Some people often take the symptoms of a panic attack as a potential heart attack cause and get worried for that instead of the panic problem.

One of the causes for a panic attack is considered to be a genetic issue meaning that a person can get the panic attack problem from a family or any special events that are feared inside the family like doing a job, or going to college etc. Sometimes, the cause can also be due to someone’s death that had been a loved one and was close to the person or any such situation that can be a reason of stress like loosing a job, deception in a relation. However there can also be some medical conditions causing the problem. It is for this reason, advised that a doctor should be consulted if the panic attack symptoms are being seen in oneself.

There are some treatments that are being practiced in order to cure panic attacks and make a person relaxed so that a chance of a panic attack can be lessened though not eliminated. One of the treatments used nowadays is named cognitive behavioral therapy. As the name says, it is a kind of therapy which tries to eliminate the problem using the mind of the person or lessen the severity of it. The therapy tries to find the place where the person gets the panic attacks or got a single attack. It then trains the mind to consider that the problem can be avoided and an attack cannot prove harmful if a person wills. It is like training in order to fight one’s fears and issues. If this proves successful, further panic attacks can prove harmless as a person may realize that there is not a potential danger only a fear that is haunting the mind for some reason.

Another therapy used to cure the problem is known as an Exposure therapy. Again the name can give out a hint that it is a therapy and exposes the person to the specific fear which they consider to be a root problem for a panic attack. A controlled environment is used where the patient is exposed to the danger and attack which they consider as life threatening for them. A person may be exposed to a high altitude place which may be their fear factor. By doing this, it is attempted that the person may understand that there is not as much of a danger to the person as they are currently thinking. Fighting one’s fear has been considered as a useful method of eliminating them.

A number of other methods may also be adapted by the doctor or psychiatrist they may consider as an appropriate one for a specific patient or victim.