Panic Disorder Treatment

There are many possible panic disorder treatments available for patient these days. It can be broadly classified under natural panic remedies and panic disorder medications.

Panic Disorder Medications

The main type of drugs used to treat panic attack patients are usually anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs. Even though some patients may not have clinical depression, antidepressant medication is often used as it can inhibit anxiety attacks.

Almost all panic disorder drugs work by altering your brain’s neurotransmitters. The 3 most common are serotonin which modulate your moods, anxiety, sleep and sexuality.

Norepinephrine influences your sleep and alertness level while Dopamine influences body movement and is also used by your brain for reward, motivation and a sense of happiness.

The most common type of drugs used in panic disorder patients are the SSRIs (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Drugs such as Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil work by increasing the level of serotonin in the brain.

Anti-anxiety drugs (Benzodiazepines) are occasionally used by doctors to treat patients with severe cases of panic attacks. However, drugs such as Xanax, Klonopin and Ativan should be used with caution since patients can be addicted to it.

Natural Panic Disorder Remedies

They are also a few remedies to treat panic attacks. The most common are St John’s Wort and passion flower. These provide a soothing and calming effect on the person.

Typically they are drunk as herbal tea although there are several herbal supplement companies such as Native Remedies that have produced capsules for easier intake. Mindsoothe and Purecalm are two examples.

Your diet also plays an important role in preventing panic attacks. You should refrain from beverages that contain caffeine such as coffee, tea and colas.

Learning how to control your breathing can also help you control your panic and anxiety attacks. By learning how to take deep, controlling breathing before the onset of a panic attack can delay or even remove panic attacks althogether.

Joe Barry PanicAway program can show you in detail how you can control your breathing properly. It does take some time but when you mastered it, you may not even need medication to control your panic disorder illness.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a new form of panic disorder treatment that has been proven to be effective in curing panic attacks.

CBT or cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most effective form of psychotherapy used in treating anxiety disorders. It focuses on the importance of thought and behavioral processes in helping the patient understand his/her panic disorder symptoms.

It is usually performed by counselors, psychologists or psychiatrists.