Anyone who’s had one wants to know how to respond to panic episodes.  A panic attack causes intense physical and psychological distress. 

If the episodes persist they can ruin a person’s quality of life, putting limits on their day to day activities and defining their choices for them. 

In this article I want to give some ideas about how to respond.  If you’re like most people who have had one, you want to know two things: what to do to avoid an anxiety episode in the first place and what to do if you get one anyway.

First, you really should see a doctor.

It’s possible you might have a physical problem.  You want to be certain that you don’t have a condition such as a heart or thyroid problem causing your symptoms.

Visiting a doctor makes sure the diagnosis is correct and reassures you that you are physically OK.  Some treatment options use this knowledge to help alleviate feelings of anxiety.

It also helps to realize you aren’t the only one with this problem.

Anxiety disorders afflict many people.  Given the stressful times we live in it’s not very surprising. People often use on-line forums to discuss their anxiety issues.

As always when you go on-line you need to use some common sense. I’ve seen some excellent advice on-line and I’ve seen some pretty bad advice.

It’s also helpful that many people describe what their attacks felt like.  Hearing other people’s stories and how they’ve responded can be inspiring and instructive.

You should also learn how to do a breathing technique to help with panic attacks calleddiaphragmatic breathing.  This type of breathing is good for you in general.  It also gets you used to feeling relaxed.

Diaphragmatic breathing generally isn’t enough on its own it can be one of the tools used to bring an early anxiety attack under control.

It is also good to get instruction on the relaxation response.  You can learn this from any number of sources.  No matter how you learn them, you should use the techniques daily, even if only for a few minutes.

Cognitive restructuring is a form of psychotherapy that has proved very effective in preventing anxiety attacks.  You can use this most easily working with a therapist but you can also use it without seeing a therapist.

Lastly, if your attacks are extremely troublesome you may benefit from short term use of medications to give you some relief while the more permanent solutions have a chance to work.

Most people will be able to come off the drugs after a few weeks to a year. A few need ongoing treatment.

There are other medications for anxiety and panic attacks that are used in addition to antidepressants.

Naturally, if you’re taking medication you need to be under a doctor’s supervision.

I hope this has given you an idea of what to do about panic attacks.  The main thing to know is that relief is possible.

You can learn about an excellent way to rid yourself of panic attacks once and for all at Panic Away Review.