Professional Help.

Listed below are some of the types of professional treatment available.  Note these are only very brief explanations.

Medical Practitioner.
If you haven't already been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder here is the first place you should definitely go. It is important that someone who is having symptoms such as having a panic attack have any other causes ruled out. A medical practitioner can also make you feel more reassured about what is happening to you and can discuss the types of treatments available.

Psychologist/ Psychiatrist.
You may end up seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist. They can discuss with you your problems. Help with your thought processes. Go over any issues in life you may have and work out a good way to tackle your anxiety disorder. A large part of an anxiety disorder can be the way one thinks. Ones attitude and perspective towards not only life but also  towards ones disorder. Some therapists perform cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of therapy has been shown to have some of the best and lasting results with anxiety  disorders.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a series of exercises or strategies of working to over come a particular anxiety disorder. Depending on the disorder these strategies can include breathing and relaxation techniques and desensitization (the act of slowly introducing ones self to feared situations or feared bodily sensations). For example if one finds the symptom of a racing heart very disturbing a cognitive behavioral therapist might put you through a number of exercises to accelerate the heart beat in a controlled circumstance. They would then help you to relax or to control the heartbeat so that you no longer fear it. This can sound a little harsh and scary but it is done in very small steps.


Types of Medications.
Benzodiazepine Tranquilizers
These include medications such as Xanax, Ativan, Valium, Serax, Klonopin, Tranxene. Also in the benzodiazepine sedatives are Dalmane, and temazepam. These medications are usually fast acting and work by suppressing the activity of the central nervous system. While these drugs tend to be efficient in reducing anxiety there can also be a danger of tolerance and addiction.

Antidepressants
There are four groups of these:
1.MAO- inhibitor Antidepressants. Such as Nardil, Marplan and Parnate. These are not used much anymore. When taking these one must watch their diet (certain foods may cause large rises in blood pressure) and also certain over the counter medications.

2. Cyclic Antidepressants Such as Trofranil, Anafranil and Elavil. These medications seem to reduce both the intensity and the frequency of  panic attacks. They can also be effective in reducing depression.
  
3.SSRI (Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitor) Such as Paxil (aropax) celexa (cimpramil) and zoloft. These can be used to treat  panic disorder, agoraphobia, depression and ocd. These are some of the most commonly prescribed medications.

There are also more medications used, and also much more information to be found on the medications above. If you are looking for detailed information on a particular medication you might try using this looking at this site - rxlist

 

 

HOME