Information on What to Do After Panic Attacks

Fear is more often than not the route cause of anxiety and panic attacks. If you have a panic disorder, you will often find yourself experiencing a panic attack. For most people, their panic attacks happen when they are surrounded by people. Panic attacks can adversely affect a person’s self-esteem. Anyone, children and adults alike, can experience panic attacks. It’s because fear is something we all have in common regardless of how old we are. There is an 80% higher chance of an individual developing a disorder if other immediate family members suffer from panic than those whose family have no history at all. That risk goes up if the disorder develops in a family member before he or she reaches 20 years. Twins as you know are connected genetically and as such are also likely to experience the same effects. If you have a panic disorder, or if you live with someone who has it, you need to be aware of what you need to do after panic attacks.

After a panic attack, you may still feel intense anxiety, which could last for a few more hours. As a sort of ripple on effect, the fear of having another panic attack can result in another attack being triggered. It is not necessary to tell you, if you have been living with any form of anxiety or panic, about the kinds of intense fear and worry that can manifest and force a change in your behavior. Panic attacks do have serious after effects. For instance, panic attack sufferers may develop agoraphobia, have longer or complicated recovery times, or their ability to function normally every day may become limited.

It is important that you seek medical help after a panic attack. What you have to bear in mind though is that the symptoms of panic, much like other disorders, bear similar resemblance to one another and as such are difficult to diagnose accurately. Before they diagnose a patient as having a panic disorder after a panic attack, doctors try to rule out other illnesses. A thorough examination should be performed by a qualified medical practitioner before a panic disorder can be diagnosed.

Often doctors who do a physical examination on patients after panic attacks and do not find any symptoms of a panic disorder refer their patients to a qualified mental health specialist for more tests. A mental health doctor usually bases his diagnosis following the criteria set by the American Psychiatric Association.

Patients can expect to receive any number of panic attack treatment options. Research shows that one way of treating panic is the administering of prescription medication used in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy. For instance, psychodynamic panic focused psychotherapy is one treatment that helps patients to become aware of their fantasies, as well as unconscious conflicts. Overly simplified, what happens is that once they become aware of these various conflicts, they can, with assistance, develop defense mechanism in order to minimize the effects.

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