Many people have found relief for panic attacks through therapy. Since each person and their condition is different, the amount of time the treatment can take to show improvement can vary a lot. Sometimes you may need to wait many months before you can start to see any progress.
Patience is the most important factor when starting panic attack therapy. One type of therapy may be effective for one person rather quickly, while a second person might need more time, or even a combination of different therapy types to treat their panic attacks.
Try to be open minded and avoid setting specific goals for progress such as “I’m going to quit if I don’t see any results in one month.” This is a sure way to frustrate yourself and make sure that you don’t see change. Give whatever treatment method you use a fair chance and give it time to show results.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a commonly-used and usually successful way to ease panic and anxiety problems. CBT is used to encourage people begin to re-shape their thoughts and behaviors. If you are looking for anxiety or panic attack therapy methods, it is very probable that you will be exposed to this in some form.
When you start out with CBT, you will likely work out a plan with your doctor. You may be asked to do homework to be finished on your own such as writing down your personal goals that you will use to gradually expose yourself to scenarios that might trigger anxiety or panic attacks for you. You will probably be recording your thoughts and feelings in a journal as well as a means of looking back to see your progress in your recovery.
Depending on your situation, you may also be prescribed medicine. There are a good deal of medications for anxiety disorders out there that can be rather effective. Medication, though is not a solution. It just lowers your anxiety so that you can start to look for an effective recovery program.
Here are some recommended exercises you may be asked to do as part of your panic attack therapy regimen. Please consult with your doctor though before you begin any of these on your own. These practices are supposed to mimic some of the physical symptoms of panic attacks so that you can get used to feeling them knowing that you are in full control of the situation and gradually desensitize yourself from them.
First, you might try to breath heavily for thirty seconds or so. It is common that panic attacks begin with hyperventilation, so if you can start to do this voluntarily, you may begin to feel more relaxed and stop an anxiety attack in the future.
Also try turning around several times to create a feeling of dizziness. Dizziness is another common symptom of panic and anxiety attacks.
Jog in place or adopt an aerobic exercise program to raise your heart beat and get comfortable with that experience.
Anxiety disorder therapy can be a useful method of curing anxiety disorders by gradually getting you comfortable with typical physical symptoms of a panic episode. Again, it may take some time to experience measurable success in your recovery so stick with whatever program or form of therapy your doctor recommends.
