Panic attacks (also known as panic disorder) may include a feeling of intense fear, a sense of doom, or a feeling of unreality--accompanied by physical symptoms: a racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, perhaps a feeling of choking, sweating, shaking, or flushing. There may even be symptoms similar to a heart attack: chest pains, dizziness, light-headedness, or nausea.
Pharmaceutical approaches may calm the immediate symptoms but mask the underlying causes and delay their resolution while introducing unpleasant side effects. The same is true of herbs such as St. John Wort. There are several natural approaches that don't rely on chemistry.
Hypnosis has been approved by the American Medical Association since 1958 as a form of treatment for panic disorder. While it may not cure the disorder, it can ease the symptoms by changing the way sensations are perceived. This allows the patient to recognize the onset of an attack and remain more relaxed.
Energy psychology, known as thought-field therapy or Emotional Freedom Technique, includes the tapping with a finger of various acupuncture points while saying affirmations. This has been shown to be very effective and is the first choice of some therapists.
Laughter is effective if the patient is capable of remembering an event that produced uncontrollable laughter at the time.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a common practice among therapists treating panic disorder. It can be used in combination with energy psychology.
Desensitization is a process where the patient experiences memories of panic-inducing events during a therapy session. The person may be led to remember the feeling of taking off in an airplane if that was a situation that produced panic. The time or intensity of the memory can be gradually increased to desensitize the patient. If the situation is easily created, such as shopping in a certain kind of store, then a therapist might visit the store with the patient for increasing lengths of time starting with just a few minutes.
All of the techniques attempt to retrain the brain and body to produce an alternate reaction to a stimulus so that the resulting emotions are positive and manageable. The techniques vary but a patient should expect the therapy for panic disorder to take eight to sixteen weeks to complete.
