Don't panic! Try relaxing, therapy to control attacks
Panic attacks are more common than you may realize.
Six million Americans suffer from panic attacks and with people struggling to deal with the sluggish economy, panic attacks are likely to get even more common.
Fortunately, a few treatments can help prevent or control these attacks. The folks at Good Housekeeping magazine came up with some options.
When Katherine O'Connor had her first panic attack, she couldn't stop crying.
"I couldn't think anymore. My head started, like, I started feeling dizzy, out of breath. My ears blocked up, and I basically started to cry and ran out of the room," she said.
But yoga, meditation and special breathing techniques have helped.
Dr. Barbara Milrod with Weill Cornell Medical College says panic attacks often mimic the symptoms of heart attacks.
"Anti-depressants have been shown to work, and benzodiazepines also stop panic attacks," she said.
Like O'Connor, many sufferers find relief through relaxation techniques.
Jenny Cook, Good Housekeeping's executive director, says it's really important to figure out which kind of relaxation technique is going to work best for you.
"Different ones work better for different people. So deep breathing through an oncoming attack may help to calm you., or distracting yourself by doing a crossword puzzle might be a better solution," she said.
Really, it's whatever works for you.
One more option: therapy. In one study, 75 percent of panic attack patients got better after three months of therapy for their disorder.
Women are more likely to have panic attacks than men. In fact, women panic patients outnumber men 2 to 1.
And panic attacks are often genetic. Parents, siblings and children of panic sufferers are up to seven times more likely to have panic disorders than people without close relatives who have the problem.
More information:
MedlinePlus: Panic Disorder
Six million Americans suffer from panic attacks and with people struggling to deal with the sluggish economy, panic attacks are likely to get even more common.
Fortunately, a few treatments can help prevent or control these attacks. The folks at Good Housekeeping magazine came up with some options.
When Katherine O'Connor had her first panic attack, she couldn't stop crying.
"I couldn't think anymore. My head started, like, I started feeling dizzy, out of breath. My ears blocked up, and I basically started to cry and ran out of the room," she said.
But yoga, meditation and special breathing techniques have helped.
Dr. Barbara Milrod with Weill Cornell Medical College says panic attacks often mimic the symptoms of heart attacks.
"Anti-depressants have been shown to work, and benzodiazepines also stop panic attacks," she said.
Like O'Connor, many sufferers find relief through relaxation techniques.
Jenny Cook, Good Housekeeping's executive director, says it's really important to figure out which kind of relaxation technique is going to work best for you.
"Different ones work better for different people. So deep breathing through an oncoming attack may help to calm you., or distracting yourself by doing a crossword puzzle might be a better solution," she said.
Really, it's whatever works for you.
One more option: therapy. In one study, 75 percent of panic attack patients got better after three months of therapy for their disorder.
Women are more likely to have panic attacks than men. In fact, women panic patients outnumber men 2 to 1.
And panic attacks are often genetic. Parents, siblings and children of panic sufferers are up to seven times more likely to have panic disorders than people without close relatives who have the problem.
More information:
MedlinePlus: Panic Disorder