Panic Disorder: Tips for Overcoming Your Fear

Since panic and anxiety disorders have been  recognized as mental health conditions, the medical field has gotten much better at diagnosing and treating these disorders. It is surprising to see how man many women suffer from these conditions.

Still, many women don’t know they have panic disorder.  Panic disorders cause physical reactions to situations as well as emotional ones.  

What it's Like to Have a Panic Attack

If you would like to know what it is like to have a panic attack, then imagine the following scenario:

You are in a big room.  You feel as though you’re trapped you can’t get out.  Before you know it, your heart speeds up, and you can barely breathe.  Your hands break out in a sweat.  Your thoughts race, you have to get out.

This is reality for the typical panic attack sufferer.  Many people with panic attacks will spend years trying to figure out what’s wrong with them.  Many people go from doctor to doctor, in an effort to find a physical problem.  In many cases, there physical checkup reveals no irregularities. However, she sufferer knows that they are experiencing symptoms of some kind of problem

The Symptoms 

Panic disorder can be confusing for those who don’t know they have it.  Not only do they have physical problems, they also have intense feelings of fear.  Sufferers of panic attacks feel like they are going to lose control.  However, there are ways to determine whether you have the condition. 

First, you should know the symptoms:

• Feeling fear
• The sensation that you may lose control
• Dizziness
• Sweaty palms
• Accelerated heart rate
  

Some people with panic attacks become housebound, because going outside the home causes their fear to increase. 

Other Phobias

Those with panic attacks often develop other disorders that make their conditions more difficult to deal with.  Many people with panic attacks develop agoraphobia, which is a fear of open spaces.  Those with agoraphobia may feel anxious when they’re in open spaces, such as a field.

Treatment

Once you’ve determined whether or not you have panic attacks, you will need to come up with a treatment plan.  You can search for therapists online, often through your insurance company’s website. 

A therapist may put you in desensitization therapy.  Desensitization therapy requires you to confront the source of your fear with the intention of making it seem like less of a threat.  Your therapist may take you into the situation you fear and ask you to practice what therapists call “desensitization techniques.  

 You will still feel some anxiety when doing this, but you will begin  to feel more comfortable over time.  By setting aside a session once or a few times per week, your therapist will monitor your progress and give you other suggestions for dealing with your panic attacks. 

Many panic disorder sufferers try to flee the fearful situation in an effort to alleviate the fear.  A therapist will stop you from doing so.  As a result, you will confront your fear on a regular basis.  Before you know it, you will not be as afraid.

The Rose

The Rose is primarily a treatment center for addiction that also specializes in treating co-occurring disorders like mood disorders, panic disorders, and anxiety disorders.  However, we encourage you to contact The Rose for help in any matter as our 25 year history of treating addiction and other underlying issues has provided us a great network of the best specialists for problems like panic disorder.