Overcoming Panic Attacks

Anxiety disorders are characterized by an inordinate, pathological fear. While normal people fear certain things too, the person afflicted with anxiety disorders may fear too many things, or fear a few particular things or one particular thing, too much.

There are different kinds of anxiety. Here is a list of what they are and the characteristics of each:

Panic Disorder - This is a transient disorder in which the patient feels the symptoms of panic, such as shortness of breath, palpitations, possibly cold sweats. Basically, the person experiences feelings associated with fear. The triggers include stress, anxiety-provoking situations, or even exercise. 

Phobias - These are reactions of fear to specific situations, objects or animals. There is acrophobia, which is the fear of heights, there is claustrophobia, which is the fear of closed spaces, arachnophobia, which is the fear of spiders, among other things.

Agoraphobia - This is a kind of phobia which is characterized by the fear of open spaces, public areas, or places where there are crowds. The sufferer feels extreme fear in being in a situation wherein help is not readily available, or that he cannot hide from the situation. This disorder sometimes arises from the experience of a panic attack, then associated with the place where it occurred.  

Social Anxiety Disorder - As the name gives away, this is a disorder that involves a degree of fear or even panic at the prospect of being exposed to social situations. More than the fear of public speaking, this disorder involves being anxious at the thought of being scrutinized by others, as well as the chronic fear of possibly embarrassing oneself through one's own words and actions. 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Is made more familiar by the term "shell shock." Most sufferers include those who have gone through war, sexual abuse and other heavily traumatic experiences. Treatments for this disorder would include emotional rehabilitation.

There are other anxiety disorders that abound, but these are some of the most pronounced and most identifiable. In order to cure panic attacks, behavioral therapy, in the form of systematic desensitization, is most recommended. The use of medication in the course of panic attack treatment is advisable for those who may need a boost in their course of therapy. A marked relief is felt when medications are included, however, these could fast become a crutch that would cause a patient to be dependent on these. In order to see a marked change and secure healing for the anxiety disorder patient in the long run, behavioral psychotherapy and systematic desensitization are really advised.

Overcoming Panic Attacks With Systematic Desensitization

• The first encounter could be that the doctor would keep a small spider in a glass jar, and the patient can sit in the same room with the spider, but far away from it.
• The next encounter could be the same spider in the jar, but the patient would be seated nearer.
• Then the patient could be made to look at the spider, up to what he can handle of seeing or encountering the spider. He shouldn't be forced into doing this; the doctor has to be gentle in letting the patient go through this exercise.
• Eventually the spider could be let out of the jar, and the patient could look at it without a barrier of protection.
• If the patient is brave enough in the future, he could be coaxed to touch the spider.

Overcoming anxiety and panic attacks takes determination. Unless you are willing to face your fears, your fears will only enslave you for the rest of your life. If you truly want relief from your anxiety panic attacks, you have to be determined to go through the necessary behavioral therapy needed for you to overcome panic attacks. As described in the section on Systematic Desensitization, panic attacks can be overcome with a treatment that involves your exposure to the very things that trigger these. Unless you are determined to get help in overcoming panic attacks, most likely, you won't allow yourself to go through with the process of learning to stop panic attacks in the first place. 

While Systematic Desensitization takes time, you may want to learn how to overcome panic attacks while they are happening. 

Here are five tips for overcoming a panic attack at the moment you have it:

1. Deep Breathing through your nose and holding your breath for 10 seconds helps stop a panic attack.
2. First, take in air, through your nose, and hold it in for 10 seconds.
3. Exhale the air, again, through your nose. 
4. Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 until you recover from the panic attack.
5. Make sure you've closed your mouth, to restrict the breathing through your nose. The concentrated intake of air helps in calming down the panic attack.

A panic attack is not fatal. It is a condition that you can deal with methods that may even keep you from resorting to medications. And if you want to overcome panic attacks in the long run, just be determined and cooperate with your therapist, and you'll be free of this disorder in no time!