Getting Help For Panic Attacks
One of the biggest obstacles that stops people from seeking help for panic attacks is the embarrassment and even shame they feel. Human beings have an instinctive tendency to minimize or conceal illness, especially if it strikes in a public or social situation. When the illness itself is fear, fear multiplies and heightens that instinct. When your heart is pounding, you’ve broken out into a cold sweat, you’re dizzy and feel like passing out—and on top of all that you know that there is no real danger—your first instinct is not to calmly explain to people around you what is happening and how you are feeling. And while the fear that triggers a panic attack is irrational, it is not entirely irrational to be afraid of letting the world at large know you have a condition that is classified as a mental illness. Therefore, it is important for those who are suffering from this condition to understand that getting panic attacks help is available and all they have to do is feel comfortable asking for it.
There is help available for panic attacks, however, and it begins with information. The best first step a person can take is no doubt to educate himself or herself about what is happening. If you are not ready to confide in your doctor or therapist, excellent resources exist on the Internet and in public libraries that provide medically accurate information about panic disorder. In the grip of an attack, fear and physical discomfort can actually make you think you are having a heart attack, going crazy, and even about to die. The first time it happens you have no reason not to think these things. But medical descriptions and accounts of other peoples’ experiences can provide some defense. The next attack is still unpleasant, even overwhelming, when it strikes, but knowing what is happening and that it will stop gives you a start on gaining cognitive control over your experience.
For most people, intellectual knowledge will not be enough to control the disorder. Behavioral therapy is also needed. Behavioral treatment focuses on recognizing, analyzing, and learning to control specific physical elements of a panic episode, one-by-one, step-by-step. An individual symptom (for instance, a hot flash or a rapid heartbeat) and the situational triggers that tend to bring it on (e.g., being at a party or packing for a trip) are deliberately evoked in a controlled manner so that the panic attack sufferer can experience them in isolation and practice dealing with them. This is partly a process of de-sensitization and partly a question of learning some techniques for shutting down the physical reactions. Perhaps planning ahead that you will only stay for 10 minutes or a half-hour at a party will enable you to hold off an attack. Some learned breathing exercises or relaxation techniques may help slow or halt the onset of breathlessness or a racing pulse while you are there.
When behavioral and cognitive therapy together do not bring sufficient relief, medication can modify or even prevent panic attacks for many people. In some cases, knowing that you have an anti-anxiety drug that can shut down some symptoms at the first sign of an episode or before some trigger situation (pre-party or pre-flight), can provide you with a feeling of control that will stop an attack before it starts.
If you suffer from panic attacks, you are not alone. A lot of people understand your experience and can help you deal with it—through live and online support groups and information resources, medical treatment, and behavioral and cognitive therapies. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help.
