Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Treatment

Untreated panic disorder can significantly alter a person's life, keeping them from doing anything fun, engaging in social events, or even completing everyday tasks such as riding an elevator. Millions of people in the United States are affected by this potentially debilitating condition, though few know to seek help from a mental health clinic.

How Panic Disorder Develops

Panic disorder starts with increasingly frequent panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden, uncontrollable bursts of fear and anxiety that are accompanied by symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, trembling, nausea, and hyperventilation. Panic attacks can last anywhere between 1 to 20 minutes or, in severe cases, until medical intervention.

Panic attacks are frequently mistaken for heart attacks. When this happens, patients are taken into the emergency room, where they have many tubes and gadgets attached to them for testing, which further increases their anxiety level, and can worsen the panic disorder.

When these panic attacks become frequent enough, the person suffering from them begins to worry about and focus on them more and more. Panic attacks are terrible experiences, so the person becomes afraid of when the next one will strike. They may stay away from situations in which they are with people, so as to avoid the embarrassment and attention when they are suffering an attack. They might also avoid visiting locations where they previously had an attack, due to a fear of panicking there again. Eventually, all activities become compromised as the sufferer attempts to plan for the next panic attack. At this point, the problem has developed into panic disorder, which now completely controls the life of the sufferer. When people suffering from panic attacks self-medicate, they can become addicts as well, requiring dual diagnosis drug rehab to treat both conditions.

Causes

Possible causes of panic disorder are genetic inheritance (i.e. if your parents had panic disorder, you are more likely to have it as well), stressful events and major life transitions, such as new environment or job. Some researchers have theorized that the reduction of a chemical in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid may also be a cause.

Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of panic attacks in young people. Alcohol and recreational drugs may ease symptoms at first but, in the long-run, develop or worsen the symptoms of panic disorder. This is because the drugs distort the brain’s chemical balance and functionality.

The Solution

Panic disorder is a condition that can make an individual’s life take a nosedive but, thankfully, it can be controlled and is very treatable. Even panic attacks as severe as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be managed with the appropriate treatment. At Sovereign Health of California, we offer the latest methods and medications to help conquer panic disorder.