The Natural Cure For Panic Attacks
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
by bowechaim
Anyone who has taken prescription medicines for the treatment of panic attack or other anxiety disorders-or anyone who has simply read the lengthy and alarming list of possible side effects associated with those medicationsprobably wonders if a cure like that might not be worse than the disease. Nausea, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, sedation, nervousness and irritability, and withdrawal syndromes are all quite common. Some medications can even make your anxiety worse before it gets better. These are not minor drawbacks, and the fear of them can be a significant factor in preventing people from seeking treatment for their disorder.
The number one approach to panic disorder recommended by mental health professionals is clearly cognitive-behavioral therapy. Not just the number one "natural" treatment; the number one treatment overall. Cognitive behavioral therapy on its own, without the use of drugs, has achieved success rates of 65% or more in patients suffering from panic disorder and agoraphobia. When combined with brief drug therapy, it can be even more successful.
As long ago as 1993 some researchers studied a group of patients who had been treated for panic disorder with a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and prescription medications, specifically, the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam. A year after the end of their combined treatment program, 75 percent of the study group were taking no further medications and 86 percent were experiencing no more panic attacks. The long-term success rates were in fact "far superior" to those reported in patients treated with medication alone.
So what exactly is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)? CBT is a combination of cognitive restructuring techniques with behavioral modification techniques. In other words, it aims at understanding and changing the way your mind contributes to panic attacks (that's the cognitive part) and also on learning some new physical behaviors to control or defuse the panic reaction. The main tools used in CBT include:
Educating patients about how their minds and thought processes work.
Teaching panic sufferers to recognize and monitor their symptoms during an attack.
Training in breathing and relaxation techniques.
Restructuring their mental responses to the thoughts and feelings that trigger their attacks.
Exposing them under controlled conditions to the situations, places, or sensations associated with their panic episodes.
CBT does require the active involvement of a trained counselor or therapist-and also the active involvement of the patient. In that regard it is actually more demanding than just taking a daily pill to ward off the attacks. But the initial therapy is usually fairly brief (12 to 15 weeks) and the pay-off is long-term.
Not surprisingly, many people are seeking more natural ways of coping with, treating, and possibly even curing their illnesses. Many methods besides CBT have been suggested for dealing with panic attacks without drugs, including hypnosis, energy therapy, laughter therapy, talk therapy, acupuncture and tapping. All of these may work for some people. But what research shows works most reliably is cognitive behavioral therapy. So much so that this natural approach to treating panic disorder is now the first choice for many doctors and psychologists-and their patients.
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Chaim Packer is passionate about helping others with this debilitating condition. For more great information on cure for panic attacks, visit http://www.alleviatepanicattacks.com.
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