Do Panic Attack Treatments Really Work?
Anxiety and panic attack treatments recommended by doctors have been routinely handed out for years, and anyone suffering from panic attacks waste no time trying to put them into effect when they feel one coming on. After all, they have to do something to alleviate their fear and distress. But how well do they really work?
The following scenario can serve to showcase the generally accepted panic attack treatments:
There you are, standing in line at the grocery store, just another errand in an ordinary day. All of sudden, you begin to feel a familiar and distressing pressure in your throat, and you start breathing short, shallow, gaspy breaths. Tightness begins growing in your chest, making your heart beat in an erratic rhythm. You realize exactly what is going on, because you've felt it all before. And the more you dread what's about to happen, the worse the symptoms get. However you may plead with the powers that be that you might avoid this, you have no doubt that in a few seconds you are going to lose control completely and fall into a panic attack. Your only hope is to start putting into practice those damage control techniques you've been taught.
The first of the panic attack treatments you've been told to try is deep breathing exercises. You focus on breathing in through your nose, out through your mouth. You try to think relaxing thoughts, but it doesn't seem to have the positive effect you're hoping for. Just the fact that you're concentrating on breathing makes you feel more embarrassed and stressed out.
Next you try the second of the panic attack treatments your doctor recommends: a gradual relaxation of your muscles. You begin by tensing your shoulders, holding that for about 10 seconds, and then releasing. You do it a second, and then a third time. But as each repetition yields no result, your stress increases with each failed attempt. As you realize your stash of coping techniques is running out, your fear increases and negative emotions begin to escalate.
Finally, you pull out the last of the panic attack treatments in your arsenal. Running for your life. The adrenaline is coursing through your body, and when the fight didn't work, the flight was all that was left. You are convinced that this is the worst case scenario, you're going to finally go crazy for real, right there in public. Your only option is to get away as fast as you can, and at least save some shreds of dignity before the end.
Eventually your panic eases, maybe in 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour. But you still don't feel secure, and you still need those stupid groceries.
You may experience different sensations, level of intensity, or triggering mechanisms, but if you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks, you may have found the description above to be all too familiar. It is an intense and overwhelming experience that convinces people that very bad things are about to happen. As little comfort as this might be, the fact is that they are hardly alone. Estimates are that some form of anxiety disorder affects approximately five percent of the population.
But if the panic attack treatments they've all learned to manage their symptoms aren't doing the job, what's left to try? Is there an alternative to simply suffering, or a lifetime of medication? Isn't there a way to stop a panic attack before it starts, eliminating the need to cope with them, with little success, after the fact? The fact is, it's entirely possible to put an end to the vicious cycle of panic attacks. It's not another of those panic attack treatments that don't work; it's a method whereby the fear is eliminated by facing it squarely. We all know, deep in our hearts, that we can only conquer a fear by turning to look it in the face. No matter where we run, the fear will only follow. While it seems contradictory, the best of all panic attack treatments is to deliberately dare one to come.
The frustrating cycle of panic attacks CAN be broken. It's done by getting rid of the fear, once and for all - by facing and confronting it. We all understand on a deep level that running from fear never works in the long run. It will always find us. But using guided techniques, it's possible to conquer it. It might sound weird, but the greatest of all panic attack treatments is by actually hoping that you get one.
If you voluntarily move toward an anxiety attack, instead of fighting to hold it off, the control begins to move back to you. You begin to wield the power over the situation, not your panic. You'll learn that consciously choosing to experience and confront a panic attack renders it far less likely that you'll even be able to have one. While you may understand on an intellectual level that a panic attack can't hurt you, it's only when you realize this emotionally that you will start becoming victorious over your demons. This technique will prove to you that you can face, confront, and conquer your fear.