Archive for April, 2010

Hypnotherapy has been used for thousands of years, in various forms, throughout a variety of cultures. Modern hypnotherapy was endorsed as a medical procedure in the mid 20th century by both British and American Medical Associations. By 1995, the NIH issued a statement that scientific evidence favored the use of hypnotherapy for chronic pain.

While hypnotherapy is still considered an alternative medical practice, and lacks enough medical research to validate it as a proven medical treatment – hypnotherapy is accepted within many Psychology and Medical circles as a valid and effective therapy.

** How does Hypnotherapy for Panic Attacks Work? **

Within the professional hypnotherapy community, the current accepted method of hypnotherapy to cure Panic Attacks is called Analytical Hypnotherapy, or Hypnoanalysis.

This kind of hypnotherapy is actually a very focused and intensive form of talk therapy that places the patient in a safe and secure environment, and then seeks to walk the patient, using hypnosis, through the process of identifying the underlying cause of the patient’s panic attacks, anxiety, or phobia.

The theory is that once the underlying cause of the anxiety is identified and reduced, all of the associated symptoms (phobia, anxiety and panic attacks) will also become dramatically reduced as well.

The treatment regimen using hypnotherapy can be a very long, intense, and expensive process. However, much like regular psychotherapy, this is a process that will help the patient to self-examine and identify what the source of the fear and anxieties are. The addition of hypnosis can serve to deepen and intensify that process.

** Scientific Evidence **

Unfortunately, hypnotherapy is a poorly understood and poorly studied form of therapy. There are only very few studies that offer anything conclusive Read the rest of this entry »

Panic disorder with panic attacks and acute anxiety have become either more common or more diagnosed in recent years. Panic attacks are generally accompanied with the following symptoms:

- Palpitations, pounding heart or increased heart rate.

- Sweating.

- Trembling or shaking.

- Sensations of shortness of breath.

- Feelings of choking.

- Chest pain or discomfort.

- Nausea or abdominal distress.

- Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed, or faint.

- Fear of losing control or going crazy.

- Fear of dying.

- Numbness or tingling sensations.

- Chills or hot flashes.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps, but will rarely cure the problem. There are successful ways to treat panic attacks. It is not uncommon for patients with long-standing panic and acute anxiety to need only two or three visits. Untreated, the patient begins to worry even more about the implications of an attack (e.g., losing control, “going crazy”) and may start to constrict their daily activities

Although the majority of the mainstream treatment approaches largely depend on treating panic attack and anxiety disorder by using psychotropic drugs, these treatment approaches simply underestimate the root of the crisis. Many researchers now agree with the fact that there is a whole host of unique reasons that may actually trigger out panic attack in an individual. Each of them is unique in terms of demanding unique attention for it. So, quite obviously, there should be different ways to treat panic attack in question.

The medications used for treating panic attack can provide only a temporary relief from the symptoms, however, not a cure for life. In fact, they come with lots of complications that even turn out to be complicated in their own such as drug dependency, withdrawal complication and so on. In addition, these medications offer different side effects Read the rest of this entry »

Panic attacks are common and most people who suffer from it undergo a variety of emotions within their hearts.However, the most unfortunate factor is that some people dont know whether they have experienced a panic attack. This is because they dont have a clue about the potential symptoms of this serious disorder. According to a research, it has been proved that an average person usually experience at least one panic attack in their life time.If one has the will power and the strength to overcome the anxiety and panic attacks, it is easy to cope up with this condition. The good news is that yes, one can easily cope up with this disease.First and foremost, you need to understand the symptoms of this disease. Once you learn the symptoms, it would be quite easy for you to cope up with this disease.Now, this doesnt indicate that the individual is caught in the web of panic attack or disorder. However, it is very important for one to know about the primary symptoms of panic attacks. This will help you a lot in identifying whether you are suffering from one.A panic attack is often referred to as the flight or fight mechanism. This means that your bodys reaction to a particular situation your mind perceives as stressful and needs instant resolution and action. This also indicates that you have to leave it via solving it or running away from it. Your survival is instigated by the same reaction that results in high stress times. In case, the same reaction triggers at wrong times, it results in panic attack. There are several symptoms of panic attack. One of the main symptoms is tightness in your chest. This can make you believe that you are having a heart attack.In case, you experience this type Read the rest of this entry »

Anxiety panic attacks can be easily treated with proper diet. Many times you must have realized that the diet we take plays a major role on the way our body and mind functions. Food is considered to be the primary supplier of the nutrients required for body and mind in order to keep an individual healthy and to prevent a lot of diseases. Proper diet can easily prevent anxiety and panic attacks.Medical experts feel that many diets play a curing role in increasing anxiety and even in prevention of certain types of panic attacks. There is also food that has calming effects that helps preventing these diseases. Of course, there are medicines but a healthy diet can also help a lot in preventing panic attacks and anxiety disorder control. It is important to consult your doctor to your panic anxiety disorder and the dietician prior to modifying your diet. You can reduce a great degree of anxiety via keeping yourself well hydrated. Water is known to have a lot of health benefits. It is also known for preventing anxiety and panic attacks. Several studies show that dehydration may result in anxiety and nervousness. This is because 85 percent of our brain contains water. In case adequate hydration is not maintained the body may also respond in a different manner. It would be the best thing if you can drink about eight glasses of water on a daily basis in order to keep yourself hydrated. If your body is too acidic, the condition will definitely give way to higher levels of anxiety. Acidic foods such as proteins, dairy products, processed foods and sugar work towards promoting anxiety. Acidic foods make it really very hard for your body to exterminate toxins as well as minimizing the amount of stress and making you weak. Stress is a definite trigger of anxiety.You should consider switching to alkaline diet and thats really calming. This will work towards preventing anxiety. Fruits and vegetables contribute to alkaline diet. You can easily include items such as oranges, apple, pineapple, almonds, broccoli and cucumber. Doctors recommend that one requires about 80 per cent alkaline diet in order to create balance. You need to avoid alcohol and caffeine as far as you can. The reason is that drinking too much of coffee can result in a lot of anxiety and nervousness as it is a stimulant and also causes problems related to sleep. At first you may feel that alcohol has a calming effect initially but will create serious symptoms related to anxiety in future.You need to focus on what you eat and drink. This will help you a lot to stay away from feelings related to anxiety. Make sure that you eat a well balanced diet and get all the minerals and nutrients you require to make your body and feelings more stable.In order to get professional help for anxiety disorder, it will be really helpful if you are not able to manage the whole condition on your own. Try to read more and get more knowledge on anxiety related disorders and you would find it real easy to cope up with this illness.s sFor more Articles, News, Information, Advice, and Resources about PANIC ATTACKS and ANXIETY please visit PANIC ATTACKS ADVICE and DEPRESSION GUIDES

For those of you who have experienced a panic attack know for sure you don’t ever want to experience it again. Sufferers may continue to have them, but knowing that there are some ways to lessen the process, or at least make recovering from the attack easier, is a relief in itself. Many people the world over suffer from panic attacks and go day in and day out wondering when the next one will surface and if they will handle it.

Figuring out why you became panicked and anxious at the time of the attack will help you to deal with the panic attack. With rational thoughts, you can very likely calm yourself down and in the process determine why you panicked in the first place.

You may even find a way to avoid future attacks if you pay close attention to the time, place and events that occur around the attack. Scientifically, we can not determine why certain people have panic attacks, but tracking your attacks can help determine the cause of yours and bring you one step closer to eliminating them altogether.

Once you feel an attack emerging, you should always sit up straight, take deep inhalations and slowly exhale, until the fear of anxiety and panic disappears. Focusing on your breathing will help you to have something to concentrate on and keep your mind off of the panic attack itself. Taking deep and slow breaths in this manner will also keep you from passing out from being over worked from the attack and also ensures your physical health and well being.

If and when you feel a panic attack emerge, be sure to stop everything you are doing and begin your slow and deep breathing as before mentioned. Try thinking of a time Read the rest of this entry »

For chronic panic attack and anxiety sufferers the need for help is acute. While there is no way to cure you of your panic attacks, there are very good ways to reduce them in number and severity.

Many people can reduce the frequency of attacks so that they are years apart. This kind of relief cannot be underestimated. One of the crucial components in understanding your panic or the source of your anxiety is to identify the triggers for them.

Do the attacks start when you are in confined spaces, open spaces, surrounded by too many people, encountering an authority figure?

What is the trigger in the attack or the anxiety episode? Once you identify the triggers you can work to cut down the number of stressors you encounter daily. You will probably not be able to eliminate stressors entirely unless you want to live alone in the woods somewhere. Even that may have stressors of its own.

Your goal is not to eliminate the triggers but to reduce them and more importantly understand what they are. Understanding will help with positive thought redirection.

What panic sufferers need to remember is that even though it doesn´t seem like it, you are in control. You have the power. Panic attack sufferers feel powerless, like victims. You are not a victim; you are not out of control. With practice you can regain control. You can stop panic attacks dead in their tracks, you can reduce and curb your anxiety, and you can train your mind to be more positive.

By changing your thinking habits and retraining your brain to approach difficulties in another way you will greatly reduce your anxiety, your panic attacks and Read the rest of this entry »

Most disorders are clinically dependent on each other. Hence, there is a possibility of a relationship between panic attacks and menopause. In fact, according to a research, panic attacks and menopause are closely related to each other.

Many people with attacks have a tendency to develop a certain type of chemical imbalance due to the effect of the attacks on their overall bodies.

When a woman undergoes menopause, there is a kind of hormonal imbalance that occurs in the human body. It tends to create a suitable environment where the woman is vulnerable to a number of disorders related to anxiety.

However, every woman with menopause does not face panic attacks. Hence, it should not be made a standard effect.

In order to rule out panic attacks during menopause, it is not necessary to take any medications.

1) Here are certain symptoms shown by women who experience attacks during menopause:

a) Rapid breath and shallowly

b) Breathe with the muscles of the chest, shoulders and neck

c) Do not use diaphragm for breathing

If you notice any of the above mentioned symptoms, it would be best to seek help of a health care practitioner.

Women who experience panic attacks during menopause tend to get more frequent attacks in the long run.

Menopausal attacks may appear as a great shock to woman who have never experienced any sort of anxiety in their lives.

2) The symptoms of menopausal panic attacks starts at the age of thirty five. These can be a symptom for many of the hormonal problems or changes faced by women such as the following:

a) Menopause

b) Premenstrual dysphoric disorder or (PMDD)

c) Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

d) Perimenopause
Read the rest of this entry »

Copyright (c) 2007 Mary Ann Copson

If you have ever had a panic attack, you don’t want another one. The “fight-or flight” response in your body is involuntarily turned on and your nervous system signals your adrenal glands to start pumping out stress hormones to get you ready to either run away or turn and fight.

Your muscles tense, your heartbeat speeds up, and your breathing becomes more rapid. You might feel like you are smothering, claustrophobic or you may experience an urgency to get away. On top of that, you may get hot flashes, sweating, and/or chills and trembling, plus numbness, tingling sensations, dizziness, and nausea.

You become overwhelmed by an extreme sense of fear and impending disaster and you lose your ability to think calmly and clearly while experiencing a distorted sense of time and a feeling of unreality.

In the face of a physical threat, accident, or natural disaster, this type of response is normal and can be life-saving. But panic attacks that occur unexpectedly in the presence of normal events can be debilitating. They may happen with no forewarning, at any time of the day or night, and last several seconds or more than half an hour.

The triggers for panic attacks are unpredictable. Most panic attacks are set off by some minor or major stressor. But panic attacks can also be triggered by changes in emotions, or as a response to certain drugs, foods, allergies (including hidden food allergies), hypoglycemia, and illnesses.

A panic attack is an example of an acute anxiety disorder and can affect teens to middle-agers and beyond. Women are reported to experience panic attacks twice as often as men but some believe that is only because men are more reticent to report panic attacks.

Read the rest of this entry »