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Find The Right Panic Attack Medication
Once an incident has been recognized as a panic attack and not a symptom of a more serious physical condition, treatment is two-fold with prescribed drugs and cognitive-behavior therapy. The therapy sessions seek to help sufferers to break patterns of negative thought and to teach calming and coping strategies.
A therapist will teach tips for panic attacks and will help the affected individual to cultivate more positive reactions to stress.
A strong support system is vital for individuals suffering from panic attacks. Many times as the individual is experiencing runaway irrational fears the best panic attack treatment is the intervention of a trusted friend or family member. Support groups can be very helpful if the person can cultivate trust and rapport with the members.
Therapists often recommend that a patient keep a journal or daily record of their reactions to events in an effort to identify triggers.
Stress-relieving activities like tai chi, yoga, and individual sports are recommended as are seminars in stress and time management and other training courses in addressing anxiety and worry.
The panic attack medication of choice is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI. These drugs like Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac help the individual to gain control of their panic. Many times if the patient learns to confront specific triggers while on the medication the panic cycle will be broken and the medication can be discontinued.
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While an individual is working to learn about and to control their anxiety attacks, they may require limited use of benzodiazepines like Valium or Xanax on an emergency basis. Long term use of these substances is discouraged, however, as they are addictive.
Unfortunately it is not uncommon for people to self-medicate their panic attacks with alcohol or illegal drugs.
If this has gone on for some time and a pattern of dependence has developed, treatment for the dependency may be required as well as that for the disorder itself.
Can Panic Attack Be Prevented
Since the cause of panic attack symptoms is not known and many times specific triggers are not easily identified, actually preventing an onset of the disorder is somewhat difficult. If other members of your family suffer from panic attacks and you feel you are at risk for the same experience, you will want to make sure that you eat regularly and well and get plenty of rest and exercise.
The last thing you want to do is to worry yourself about an attack to the point of excessive anxiety. Panic attack symptoms feed on anxiety so your major goal is to stay calm and to keep your worries and concerns in proportion with their seriousness in your life.
When Should I Seek Medical Advice?
Panic attack disorder is a real condition and not one about which an individual need suffer embarrassment.
When these attacks become frequent - daily or weekly - and negatively affect an individual's ability to carry on their personal and professional life, the help and advice of a professional is required.
Panic attack symptoms are unmistakable, painful, and debilitating. With the assistance of new medications there are effective means of addressing this problem.
Many patients report learning enough about themselves and their reaction to the world during panic attack treatment to overcome the incidents and to discontinue their medication.
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