October 21, 2022 • 20 mins
A feeling of terror. Sweating. Dizziness. Chest pains. A panic attack can be scary—although rarely dangerous. Dr. Saltz tells how to distinguish between isolated attacks and a true panic disorder—and offers ways to deal with both.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Bees are challenging times, but you don't have to navigate
them alone. Welcome to how Can I Help? I'm Dr
Gail Saltz. I'm a clinical Associate Professor of psychiatry at
the New York Presbyterian Hospital, a psychoanalyst, and best selling author,
and I'm here every week to answer your most pressing questions,
(00:26):
hopefully with understanding, insight and advice. Panic disorder is a
serious condition that around one out of every seventy people
actually have. It usually starts in adolescence or early adulthood,
and while the exact causes are unclear, there does seem
(00:48):
to be a connection with major life transitions that are
potentially stressful, like graduating from college or getting married or
having a first child. But it also appear out of
the blue. There is some evidence for a genetic predisposition.
In other words, if a family member has suffered from
(01:09):
panic disorder, you do have an increased risk of suffering
from it yourself, especially during a time in your life
that is particularly stressful. Today, I am answering a listener's
question about having a panic attack. Now, panic disorder is
not just having a panic attack. A panic attack is
(01:31):
a sudden surge of overwhelming fear that comes without warning
and without an obvious reason. It is far more intense
than the feeling of being stressed out that most people
do experience. Symptoms of a panic attack include a racing heartbeat,
difficulty breathing, like feeling like you can't get enough air,
(01:55):
a feeling of terror that almost paralyzes you, feeling dis
or lightheaded or nauseous, trembling, sweating, feelings of chest pains,
hot flashes or chills, tingling, or feelings of pins and needles,
like in your fingers or toes, and a fear that
(02:17):
either you're going to die or you're going to go crazy. Now,
it doesn't have to be all of these, but there
should be at least four of these things present to
be a panic attack. You probably realize these symptoms as
the classic flight or fight response that human beings experienced
(02:39):
when they are in a situation of real and actual danger.
But during a panic attack, these symptoms seem to rise
from out of nowhere. They occur in seemingly harmless situations.
They can even happen while you are asleep. In addition
to these symptoms, a panic attack is marked by the
(03:01):
following conditions. It occurs suddenly, without any warning and without
any way to stop it. The level of fear is
way out of proportion to the actual situation. In fact,
it's often completely unrelated. It will pass in a few minutes,
usually from ten minutes to the longest and unlikeliest lasting
(03:25):
an hour. This is because actually the human body cannot
sustain the fight or flight response for longer than that. However,
repeated panic attacks can continue to occur for hours, making
it feel like it's lasting much longer when it's actually
multiple attacks. A panic attack is not dangerous in and
(03:50):
of itself, but it can be terrifying, largely because it
feels like you're going crazy or out of control. Some
people suffer panic attacks on a daily or weekly basis.
The symptoms frequently result in social difficulties such as embarrassment, stigma,
(04:12):
or social isolation. But some people who have had these
attacks for a long time they are able to restrain
the outward signs of even a very intense panic attack,
and so you might not see it. Sometimes people will suffer,
in fact, milder attacks with only three or less of
(04:33):
the symptoms that I mentioned, and those are known as
limited symptom attacks. Many different conditions can cause you to
have a panic attack one time or even a few times.
High anxiety and another type of anxiety disorder can cause
you to have a panic attack, but panic attacks by
(04:55):
themselves do not constitute a panic disorder. In order to
have a diagnosable panic disorder, you must be worrying in
between panic attacks that you could have another at any time,
and you are probably avoiding things, situations, or places or
(05:17):
really anything that you fear could trigger a panic attack
or where for example, you fear being stuck should you
have a panic attack, And it is this debilitating fear
or worry about the panic attacks themselves that constitutes panic disorder.
Panic disorder is a serious mental health problem, but it
(05:42):
can be successfully treated. Two to three percent of Americans
have panic disorder at some point in their lives. It
is usually seen before the age of fourteen for the
first time, but the prevalence is low in this age group,
meaning it can keep occurring at older ages for the
(06:04):
first time. The rates gradually increase throughout puberty, and they
peak actually during adulthood. This time frame is particularly common
if someone has been subjected to a traumatic experience, and
women are twice as likely as men to develop panic disorder.
(06:26):
The frequency and severity of panic attacks vary widely between individuals.
Panic disorder itself can continue for months or years, depending
on how, when, and if treatment is pursued. If left untreated,
symptoms can become so severe that a person has problems
(06:49):
with their friends, with their family, or with their job.
Some people can experience months or years of frequent symptoms
and then have symptoms for years altogether. In other words,
symptoms can persist at the same level indefinitely, or they
(07:09):
can remit and go away. There is some evidence that
many people, particularly those who symptoms begin at an early age,
may naturally experience a partial or even complete reduction in
symptoms after middle age. Often the first attacks are triggered
by physical illnesses, major stressors, or certain medications. People who
(07:35):
take on too many responsibilities may develop a tendency to
suffer panic attacks, and people with post traumatic stress disorder
also show a much higher rate of panic disorder than
other people. There is some evidence to suggest that hypoglycemia
or low sugar hyperthyroidism, a condition called mitral valve prolapse,
(07:59):
which is a condition, labyrinthitis, which is an inner ear
condition and theo chromostoma, which is a type of adrenal cancer,
may trigger or worsen panic disorder. How can I help
with Dr Gayale Salts will be back after this short break.
(08:27):
Let's get to my listeners question and ask how can
I help, dear Dr Saltz. I am getting married this
year and I'm very happy about it. I'm a bit
nervous and stress planning the wedding, mostly because it's a
lot to do and a lot of money to spend.
(08:49):
Last week, one day in the afternoon, I felt super nervous, like,
what the heck is happening to me? I think I'm
losing my mind kind of nervous. I felt jittery all
over and shorter breath, like I was going to throw up,
and I was sweating. At some point, I kept having
the thought I think I'm going to die now. It
(09:11):
was absolutely awful. It felt like it lasted forever, but
in retrospect, it lasted about half an hour. It totally
drained me, and it spooked me for the rest of
the day. I have been okay since then, but I
am wondering if this means I have panic disorder and
(09:32):
what kinds of treatment should I seek. I don't want
this to ruin my wedding or my life. This does
sound like a panic attack, but one panic attack does
not make panic disorder. It does sound like you've been
in a state of high excitement or anxiety for a
(09:55):
while now, and sometimes our brands and bodies, when they
are very cited, it can feel like it's high anxiety
at the same time, even though really what it is
is excitement, and it can even feel like you're in
a state of danger such that it is possible to
have a panic attack. Understandably, this is unpleasant, but it
(10:20):
is not a reason to panic. As it were, you
could have a few panic attacks and it still might
just dissipate or stop happening at all. At some point,
the question will become how do you feel between panic attacks?
Are you able to say, well, I didn't like that,
(10:42):
and I hope I don't have more, but go on
about your usual business, not avoiding anything, and not living
in a highly anxious state where your thoughts revolve around
the fear of having another panic attack. Can you not
avoid anything that reminds you of the place associated with
or the content associated with the panic attack you did have?
(11:07):
Can you do all the things you've been doing and
go to all the places you've been going without being
preoccupied about a fear of having a panic attack in
a place, and what you would do if you were
in that place. If any of these things became the issue,
then this could be evolving into panic disorder. But if
(11:30):
it doesn't, then chop this up to being in a
more anxious state and just having a panic attack. You
may never have another, or you might have a few
more sometime in the future. One thing you could do now, however,
and I would suggest, is to adopt and practice a
(11:53):
few relaxation techniques in order to take down your overall
state of anxiety, which may help you to not have
another panic attack. By reducing your stress levels in general,
you make yourself less susceptible to another panic attack. Regular
aerobic exercise with an elevated heart rate could help you
(12:17):
decrease your overall stress level. And remember it's always okay
to talk to other people you trust about feeling stressed
or nervous, and in fact, you should know that that's
almost cliche for a bride. Should you continue having panic
attacks and have them be accompanied by the ongoing and
(12:40):
fairly present fear that you could have another, such that
you are mostly not relaxed and are always thinking in
some form or another about panic attacks, then I would
suggest you do seek treatment. Panic is a very treatable
disorder with psychotherapy and sometimes the aid of medication. Leaving
(13:02):
panic disorder alone can greatly hurt your quality of life
and can lead to avoidance of being out and about
which should it become sustained, is called a gooraphobia. Make
sure you find a mental health professional who is familiar
with treating panic disorders specifically, as it does require specific
(13:25):
types of psychotherapy. I hope that was helpful. Agoraphobia, as
I mentioned before, is a disorder in which a person
becomes anxious in and therefore begins to avoid situations from
which escape might be difficult or help might be unavailable
(13:45):
in the event of a panic attack. In the recent
shift from the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders to the five, agoraphobia was transitioned
from only being diagnosed in individuals with panic disorder to
being a stand alone diagnosis. To be diagnosed with a goreaphobia,
(14:09):
the person must exhibit some observable fear or anxiety about
two or more of the following situations using public transportation,
being in open spaces, being in an enclosed space, standing
in line or behind a crowd, or being outside of
(14:30):
the home alone. This anxiety is often increased by a
fear of embarrassment, as the person fear suffering a panic
attack and showing their distress in public. One out of
every three people with panic disorder develops a gooraphobia. They
(14:50):
may experience panic attacks in the situations where they feel trapped,
in secure, out of control, are too far from their
comfort zone, and in various severe cases, and agoraphobic person
may confine themselves to their home, and they may live
for years without leaving their homes. They may have people
come in and visit them and work from their home,
(15:13):
but they don't go out. You can see how debilitating
this could be. Most specialists agree that a combination of
cognitive and behavioral therapies are the best treatment for panic
disorder medication. In some cases, the first part of therapy
is largely educational. Many people are greatly helped by simply
(15:35):
understanding exactly what panic disorder is and how many other
people suffer with it, and many people who suffer from
panic disorder are worried that their panic attacks actually mean
they are going crazy and that the panic could actually
cause them to, for example, have a heart attack, neither
of which are true. Cognitive restructuring, or changing the way
(15:59):
you think, is a type of therapy that helps people
replace those thoughts that they're having the disturbing thoughts with
more realistic and positive views of viewing the attacks. Cognitive
therapy can help the patient identify triggers for the attacks.
The trigger in an individual case could be something like thought,
(16:21):
a situation, or something like even a slight change in
their heartbeat that most people wouldn't notice what they do.
Once the patient understands that the panic attack is separate
and independent of that trigger, that trigger begins to lose
some of its power to induce an attack. The behavioral
(16:44):
components of the therapy consists of what one group of
doctors has termed interroceptive exposure. This is like systematic desensitization
used to cure phobias, but what it focuses on is
exposure to the actual physical sensations that someone experiences during
(17:05):
a panic attack. People with panic disorder are more afraid
of the actual attack than they are of the specific
object or event, as in the case of a phobia.
So for example, a person with panic disorder might have
a fear of flying, but it's not that the plane
will crash, it's that they will have a panic attack
(17:26):
in the plane where they can't get to help. Other
people won't drink coffee or go to an overheated room
because they're afraid that these things might trigger the physical
symptoms of a panic attack. So intraceptive exposure works by
helping them go through the symptoms of an attack high
heart rate, hot flash is sweating in a controlled setting
(17:50):
and teach them that these symptoms need not develop into
a full blown attack. Behavioral therapy is also used to
deal with the situational avoidance associated with panic attacks. So
one very effective treatment for phobias is exposure, which is
(18:10):
in its simplest form, breaking a fearful situation down into small,
manageable steps and doing them one at a time until
the most difficult level is mastered. Relaxation techniques can further
help someone flow through an attack. These techniques include breathing
(18:33):
like paste, deep breathing, and positive visualization, and doctors have
found that people with panic disorder tend to have slightly
higher than average breathing rates, so learning to slow this
can help someone deal with a panic attack and even
prevent future attacks. Sometimes, however, medications may be needed anti
(18:59):
anxiet idy medications like antidepressants, and sometimes even heart medications.
For example, beta blockers can be used to control things
like irregular heartbeats. A support group with other people who
suffer from panic disorder can also be helpful. It can't
take the place of individual therapy, but it can be
(19:22):
helpful addition. So if you suffer from panic disorder, think
about pursuing one of these therapies, but know that you
really can't treat yourself on your own. You do need
a professional to help you. Much of the successive treatment
depends on your willingness to carefully follow the outline treatment plan.
(19:45):
It doesn't work overnight, but if you stick with it,
you would start to have noticeable improvement within ten to
twenty weekly sessions, and if you continue to follow your
doctor's program within a year, you would have tremendous improvement.
If you are suffering from panic disorder, you should be
(20:05):
able to find help in your area. You need a
licensed psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in panic or anxiety disorders,
and when you speak to that person, specify that you
think you have panic disorder and ask about their expertise
(20:25):
in treating them. Like any other emotional or mental health issue,
you can't really cure yourself, so do pick a qualified
person and follow through with them. Do you have a
problem I can help with? If so, email me yet?
(20:47):
How can I help? At Seneca women dot com. All
centers remain anonymous and listen every Friday too. How can
I help with me? Dr Gail's Salts
Bees are challenging times, but you don't have to navigate
them alone. Welcome to how Can I Help? I'm Dr
Gail Saltz. I'm a clinical Associate Professor of psychiatry at
the New York Presbyterian Hospital, a psychoanalyst, and best selling author,
and I'm here every week to answer your most pressing questions,
(00:26):
hopefully with understanding, insight and advice. Panic disorder is a
serious condition that around one out of every seventy people
actually have. It usually starts in adolescence or early adulthood,
and while the exact causes are unclear, there does seem
(00:48):
to be a connection with major life transitions that are
potentially stressful, like graduating from college or getting married or
having a first child. But it also appear out of
the blue. There is some evidence for a genetic predisposition.
In other words, if a family member has suffered from
(01:09):
panic disorder, you do have an increased risk of suffering
from it yourself, especially during a time in your life
that is particularly stressful. Today, I am answering a listener's
question about having a panic attack. Now, panic disorder is
not just having a panic attack. A panic attack is
(01:31):
a sudden surge of overwhelming fear that comes without warning
and without an obvious reason. It is far more intense
than the feeling of being stressed out that most people
do experience. Symptoms of a panic attack include a racing heartbeat,
difficulty breathing, like feeling like you can't get enough air,
(01:55):
a feeling of terror that almost paralyzes you, feeling dis
or lightheaded or nauseous, trembling, sweating, feelings of chest pains,
hot flashes or chills, tingling, or feelings of pins and needles,
like in your fingers or toes, and a fear that
(02:17):
either you're going to die or you're going to go crazy. Now,
it doesn't have to be all of these, but there
should be at least four of these things present to
be a panic attack. You probably realize these symptoms as
the classic flight or fight response that human beings experienced
(02:39):
when they are in a situation of real and actual danger.
But during a panic attack, these symptoms seem to rise
from out of nowhere. They occur in seemingly harmless situations.
They can even happen while you are asleep. In addition
to these symptoms, a panic attack is marked by the
(03:01):
following conditions. It occurs suddenly, without any warning and without
any way to stop it. The level of fear is
way out of proportion to the actual situation. In fact,
it's often completely unrelated. It will pass in a few minutes,
usually from ten minutes to the longest and unlikeliest lasting
(03:25):
an hour. This is because actually the human body cannot
sustain the fight or flight response for longer than that. However,
repeated panic attacks can continue to occur for hours, making
it feel like it's lasting much longer when it's actually
multiple attacks. A panic attack is not dangerous in and
(03:50):
of itself, but it can be terrifying, largely because it
feels like you're going crazy or out of control. Some
people suffer panic attacks on a daily or weekly basis.
The symptoms frequently result in social difficulties such as embarrassment, stigma,
(04:12):
or social isolation. But some people who have had these
attacks for a long time they are able to restrain
the outward signs of even a very intense panic attack,
and so you might not see it. Sometimes people will suffer,
in fact, milder attacks with only three or less of
(04:33):
the symptoms that I mentioned, and those are known as
limited symptom attacks. Many different conditions can cause you to
have a panic attack one time or even a few times.
High anxiety and another type of anxiety disorder can cause
you to have a panic attack, but panic attacks by
(04:55):
themselves do not constitute a panic disorder. In order to
have a diagnosable panic disorder, you must be worrying in
between panic attacks that you could have another at any time,
and you are probably avoiding things, situations, or places or
(05:17):
really anything that you fear could trigger a panic attack
or where for example, you fear being stuck should you
have a panic attack, And it is this debilitating fear
or worry about the panic attacks themselves that constitutes panic disorder.
Panic disorder is a serious mental health problem, but it
(05:42):
can be successfully treated. Two to three percent of Americans
have panic disorder at some point in their lives. It
is usually seen before the age of fourteen for the
first time, but the prevalence is low in this age group,
meaning it can keep occurring at older ages for the
(06:04):
first time. The rates gradually increase throughout puberty, and they
peak actually during adulthood. This time frame is particularly common
if someone has been subjected to a traumatic experience, and
women are twice as likely as men to develop panic disorder.
(06:26):
The frequency and severity of panic attacks vary widely between individuals.
Panic disorder itself can continue for months or years, depending
on how, when, and if treatment is pursued. If left untreated,
symptoms can become so severe that a person has problems
(06:49):
with their friends, with their family, or with their job.
Some people can experience months or years of frequent symptoms
and then have symptoms for years altogether. In other words,
symptoms can persist at the same level indefinitely, or they
(07:09):
can remit and go away. There is some evidence that
many people, particularly those who symptoms begin at an early age,
may naturally experience a partial or even complete reduction in
symptoms after middle age. Often the first attacks are triggered
by physical illnesses, major stressors, or certain medications. People who
(07:35):
take on too many responsibilities may develop a tendency to
suffer panic attacks, and people with post traumatic stress disorder
also show a much higher rate of panic disorder than
other people. There is some evidence to suggest that hypoglycemia
or low sugar hyperthyroidism, a condition called mitral valve prolapse,
(07:59):
which is a condition, labyrinthitis, which is an inner ear
condition and theo chromostoma, which is a type of adrenal cancer,
may trigger or worsen panic disorder. How can I help
with Dr Gayale Salts will be back after this short break.
(08:27):
Let's get to my listeners question and ask how can
I help, dear Dr Saltz. I am getting married this
year and I'm very happy about it. I'm a bit
nervous and stress planning the wedding, mostly because it's a
lot to do and a lot of money to spend.
(08:49):
Last week, one day in the afternoon, I felt super nervous, like,
what the heck is happening to me? I think I'm
losing my mind kind of nervous. I felt jittery all
over and shorter breath, like I was going to throw up,
and I was sweating. At some point, I kept having
the thought I think I'm going to die now. It
(09:11):
was absolutely awful. It felt like it lasted forever, but
in retrospect, it lasted about half an hour. It totally
drained me, and it spooked me for the rest of
the day. I have been okay since then, but I
am wondering if this means I have panic disorder and
(09:32):
what kinds of treatment should I seek. I don't want
this to ruin my wedding or my life. This does
sound like a panic attack, but one panic attack does
not make panic disorder. It does sound like you've been
in a state of high excitement or anxiety for a
(09:55):
while now, and sometimes our brands and bodies, when they
are very cited, it can feel like it's high anxiety
at the same time, even though really what it is
is excitement, and it can even feel like you're in
a state of danger such that it is possible to
have a panic attack. Understandably, this is unpleasant, but it
(10:20):
is not a reason to panic. As it were, you
could have a few panic attacks and it still might
just dissipate or stop happening at all. At some point,
the question will become how do you feel between panic attacks?
Are you able to say, well, I didn't like that,
(10:42):
and I hope I don't have more, but go on
about your usual business, not avoiding anything, and not living
in a highly anxious state where your thoughts revolve around
the fear of having another panic attack. Can you not
avoid anything that reminds you of the place associated with
or the content associated with the panic attack you did have?
(11:07):
Can you do all the things you've been doing and
go to all the places you've been going without being
preoccupied about a fear of having a panic attack in
a place, and what you would do if you were
in that place. If any of these things became the issue,
then this could be evolving into panic disorder. But if
(11:30):
it doesn't, then chop this up to being in a
more anxious state and just having a panic attack. You
may never have another, or you might have a few
more sometime in the future. One thing you could do now, however,
and I would suggest, is to adopt and practice a
(11:53):
few relaxation techniques in order to take down your overall
state of anxiety, which may help you to not have
another panic attack. By reducing your stress levels in general,
you make yourself less susceptible to another panic attack. Regular
aerobic exercise with an elevated heart rate could help you
(12:17):
decrease your overall stress level. And remember it's always okay
to talk to other people you trust about feeling stressed
or nervous, and in fact, you should know that that's
almost cliche for a bride. Should you continue having panic
attacks and have them be accompanied by the ongoing and
(12:40):
fairly present fear that you could have another, such that
you are mostly not relaxed and are always thinking in
some form or another about panic attacks, then I would
suggest you do seek treatment. Panic is a very treatable
disorder with psychotherapy and sometimes the aid of medication. Leaving
(13:02):
panic disorder alone can greatly hurt your quality of life
and can lead to avoidance of being out and about
which should it become sustained, is called a gooraphobia. Make
sure you find a mental health professional who is familiar
with treating panic disorders specifically, as it does require specific
(13:25):
types of psychotherapy. I hope that was helpful. Agoraphobia, as
I mentioned before, is a disorder in which a person
becomes anxious in and therefore begins to avoid situations from
which escape might be difficult or help might be unavailable
(13:45):
in the event of a panic attack. In the recent
shift from the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders to the five, agoraphobia was transitioned
from only being diagnosed in individuals with panic disorder to
being a stand alone diagnosis. To be diagnosed with a goreaphobia,
(14:09):
the person must exhibit some observable fear or anxiety about
two or more of the following situations using public transportation,
being in open spaces, being in an enclosed space, standing
in line or behind a crowd, or being outside of
(14:30):
the home alone. This anxiety is often increased by a
fear of embarrassment, as the person fear suffering a panic
attack and showing their distress in public. One out of
every three people with panic disorder develops a gooraphobia. They
(14:50):
may experience panic attacks in the situations where they feel trapped,
in secure, out of control, are too far from their
comfort zone, and in various severe cases, and agoraphobic person
may confine themselves to their home, and they may live
for years without leaving their homes. They may have people
come in and visit them and work from their home,
(15:13):
but they don't go out. You can see how debilitating
this could be. Most specialists agree that a combination of
cognitive and behavioral therapies are the best treatment for panic
disorder medication. In some cases, the first part of therapy
is largely educational. Many people are greatly helped by simply
(15:35):
understanding exactly what panic disorder is and how many other
people suffer with it, and many people who suffer from
panic disorder are worried that their panic attacks actually mean
they are going crazy and that the panic could actually
cause them to, for example, have a heart attack, neither
of which are true. Cognitive restructuring, or changing the way
(15:59):
you think, is a type of therapy that helps people
replace those thoughts that they're having the disturbing thoughts with
more realistic and positive views of viewing the attacks. Cognitive
therapy can help the patient identify triggers for the attacks.
The trigger in an individual case could be something like thought,
(16:21):
a situation, or something like even a slight change in
their heartbeat that most people wouldn't notice what they do.
Once the patient understands that the panic attack is separate
and independent of that trigger, that trigger begins to lose
some of its power to induce an attack. The behavioral
(16:44):
components of the therapy consists of what one group of
doctors has termed interroceptive exposure. This is like systematic desensitization
used to cure phobias, but what it focuses on is
exposure to the actual physical sensations that someone experiences during
(17:05):
a panic attack. People with panic disorder are more afraid
of the actual attack than they are of the specific
object or event, as in the case of a phobia.
So for example, a person with panic disorder might have
a fear of flying, but it's not that the plane
will crash, it's that they will have a panic attack
(17:26):
in the plane where they can't get to help. Other
people won't drink coffee or go to an overheated room
because they're afraid that these things might trigger the physical
symptoms of a panic attack. So intraceptive exposure works by
helping them go through the symptoms of an attack high
heart rate, hot flash is sweating in a controlled setting
(17:50):
and teach them that these symptoms need not develop into
a full blown attack. Behavioral therapy is also used to
deal with the situational avoidance associated with panic attacks. So
one very effective treatment for phobias is exposure, which is
(18:10):
in its simplest form, breaking a fearful situation down into small,
manageable steps and doing them one at a time until
the most difficult level is mastered. Relaxation techniques can further
help someone flow through an attack. These techniques include breathing
(18:33):
like paste, deep breathing, and positive visualization, and doctors have
found that people with panic disorder tend to have slightly
higher than average breathing rates, so learning to slow this
can help someone deal with a panic attack and even
prevent future attacks. Sometimes, however, medications may be needed anti
(18:59):
anxiet idy medications like antidepressants, and sometimes even heart medications.
For example, beta blockers can be used to control things
like irregular heartbeats. A support group with other people who
suffer from panic disorder can also be helpful. It can't
take the place of individual therapy, but it can be
(19:22):
helpful addition. So if you suffer from panic disorder, think
about pursuing one of these therapies, but know that you
really can't treat yourself on your own. You do need
a professional to help you. Much of the successive treatment
depends on your willingness to carefully follow the outline treatment plan.
(19:45):
It doesn't work overnight, but if you stick with it,
you would start to have noticeable improvement within ten to
twenty weekly sessions, and if you continue to follow your
doctor's program within a year, you would have tremendous improvement.
If you are suffering from panic disorder, you should be
(20:05):
able to find help in your area. You need a
licensed psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in panic or anxiety disorders,
and when you speak to that person, specify that you
think you have panic disorder and ask about their expertise
(20:25):
in treating them. Like any other emotional or mental health issue,
you can't really cure yourself, so do pick a qualified
person and follow through with them. Do you have a
problem I can help with? If so, email me yet?
(20:47):
How can I help? At Seneca women dot com. All
centers remain anonymous and listen every Friday too. How can
I help with me? Dr Gail's Salts
Popular Podcasts
United States of Kennedy
United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.