What Is The Cure For Panic Attacks?

Is there a cure for panic attacks? It all depends.

Panic attacks are sudden brief episodes of intense fear or anxiety that trigger a variety of physical reactions—rapid pulse, shortness of breath, chills and hot flashes, stomach pain and digestive upset, etc. The mystery lies in what provokes the attacks.

Some theories hold that like depression, panic attacks are caused by a chemical imbalance or malfunction in the brain. In some families, a tendency to panic disorder appears often enough to suggest that it can be an inherited trait, indicating that genetic factors may be involved. In such cases the problem often emerges at a fairly early age. At present, panic attacks that stem from such causes can’t really be “cured” in the common sense of that term–that is, the underlying chemical or genetic flaw cannot be permanently repaired.

Other people, however, develop panic attacks and panic disorder only later in life. It appears that these may be “learned” responses. Just the right—or wrong—set of circumstances can combine to induce a panic attack in someone who has never had one before or shown any tendency in that direction. And panic attacks tend to be self-perpetuating. A panic attack is such a frightening and disturbing experience that the fear of having another one often becomes the trigger that starts the cascade of symptoms.

For people who have “learned” to have panic attacks, there is a good chance that their attacks can be cured through a process of “unlearning,” or reconditioning their response patterns to the identified stimuli through behavioral or cognitive behavioral therapy.

Further research may someday determine that panic attacks can only be learned or induced in people who do share some of the underlying chemical and/or genetic factors that are believed to cause panic disorder, though perhaps to a lesser degree than more severe cases.

If we cannot yet cure panic attacks, there are three main approaches that can effectively treat them.

  • Self-help or self-treatment
  • Behavioral or cognitive therapy
  • Medication.

Self-treatment or self-care is likely to be most helpful for people whose attacks are relatively infrequent or mild, or as a follow-up to therapy or drug treatment. Relaxation and desensitization practice are known to help people learn to recognize and cope with the triggers that set off their panic episodes, and some may be able to develop these skills on their own or with the help of support groups.

Professional therapists can help people with more severe cases or those who haven’t been able to find or master the right coping techniques on their own. Cognitive therapy can help panic attack sufferers identify and understand what their brain and body are doing in the throes of an attack. This knowledge can be a key to getting the situation under control. Behavioral treatment often involves “practicing” situations that trigger the attacks, and learning how to either avoid them or desensitize yourself to them.

Therapy and self-help may not be enough for some people, especially those diagnosed with full panic disorder. A number of medications can alleviate and sometimes even eliminate their symptoms. Anti-anxiety drugs (the benzodiazepines, like alprazolam and clonazepam) and anti-depressants (SSRIs are often the first choice) have both been shown to reduce and even eliminate symptoms.

For some people a relatively brief course of medication will get the disorder under sufficient control for therapy and self-treatment to take over. Others may need to take these drugs on a long-term basis.

Ultimately, no single approach to “curing” panic attacks is going to work for every person and every attack. There is too much individual variation in peoples’ experience, and too much scientific uncertainty about what causes these debilitating episodes. But whatever the underlying cause of a panic attack, even if a definitive cure is not likely, there is plenty of evidence that the disorder can treated and brought under control completely enough to enable the susceptible person to live and function normally, without the shadow of fear distorting their daily lives.