How Medication Can Help Break the Cycle of Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are episodes that come on suddenly and bring debilitating amounts of fear and anxiety. These attacks are usually related to a stressful event or a trigger. When people experience panic attacks, they typically have anxiety regarding when the next attack will come. This can create a cycle of attacks that makes it challenging for the person to maintain the responsibilities of daily life. However, medication and therapy can help treat panic attacks.
Understanding Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are sudden episodes of intense anxiety or fear and physical symptoms. Some common physical symptoms present with panic attacks are a faster heart rate, shortness of breath, and nausea. Panic attacks occur because people’s natural stress response is triggered by things that are not a threat. Our bodies try to protect us in threatening situations by default. Panic attacks can often become a recurring cycle because the fear of a future attack creates anxiety for the person struggling.
How Medication Can Help
Medications used to treat mental health are often misunderstood and stigmatized. However, using mediation for mental health conditions is just as valid as using it for physical ones. Over the years, the stigma of mental health medications has decreased, but there is still more work to be done. Medication can help people struggling with panic attacks break the cycle. Psychiatric medications used for panic attack treatment help to reduce the severity and frequency of attacks. It can also be used to decrease some of the symptoms so that they can work through the core fears in therapy. These medications can also help decrease the baseline anxiousness that people feel, which will help them be able to reflect in therapy. Medication can also help patients go deeper in therapy. Constant anxiety makes cognitive tasks more difficult, if not impossible. Medication can help patients improve their symptoms enough to expose their history and struggles.
Panic attacks can be scary and debilitating for those who experience them. However, there is a treatment that can help decrease the severity and frequency of them. Treatment for panic attacks is most commonly psychiatric medication and therapy combined. The combination of both is the best to address both the immediate symptoms and the underlying issues. Therapy can help patients have a safe space to discuss their fears. We want to reiterate that there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking medication for mental health conditions. Choosing to take control over treatment is actually the brave thing to do. It’s never too late for people to live a life free of being controlled by panic attacks.
If you (or someone you love) may benefit from working with us in therapy, we are here to help! Reach out to us today if you are ready to start your healing journey.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/panic-attacks/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20376027
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/best-medication-for-panic-attacks-and-anxiety
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/treatment-of-panic-attacks
https://www.ummhealth.org/health-library/treating-panic-disorder-with-medicine
https://childmind.org/article/panic-attacks-best-treatments/
Keywords: treatment, panic attacks, psychiatric medication, anxiety