How can you get rid of your anxiety attack?



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Have you ever experienced recurrent attacks of intense fear and anxiety for short periods of time without any obvious reason? Do these attacks cause chest pain & trouble breathing despite having a normal medical exam? If the answer is yes, then you might be having a condition called panic attack.

Panic attacks happen without warning. They normally last few minutes up to 1 hour. One person described his symptoms as being scared, anxious or has a feeling of losing control. Another one felt like having a heart attack. He had chest pain, palpitation & short of breath. Others might complain of tingling, numbness or dizziness.

Most of the time, they get worried about having another panic attack in the future. They normally have multiple visits to the ER whenever they have an attack. Unfortunately, there is no specific test to diagnose this condition.

What about the treatment? It is important before we diagnose and treat panic attack to do some tests to make sure that your health is normal. If everything is perfect, then we have to reassure them that they don’t have any serious illness and there is no need to rush to the emergency room every time they have an attack. Usually, talking to a psychologist might help you change the way you think about your attacks and how to react when they happen. This will teach you how to cope better with this condition.

In case these attacks are severe & disturbing and have a negative effect on your life, then psychiatrists might recommend 2 types of medications. The first type is an anti-anxiety like bromazepam, alprazolam or clonazepam. they can be taken as needed to calm you down and get rid of the attack.
The second type of medications are called SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake Inhibitor) like Cipralex, Zoloft or Cymbalta. They are supposed to be taken on a regular basis for a least 6 to 8 months to prevent these attacks.

Finally, I want to reassure you that the symptoms of panic attacks will not harm your health and will not cause any damage to your body. You need to tell yourself during the attack, that these symptoms you are having are caused by anxiety and it’s not serious. Always remember to stay calm during the attack and try to take a deep breath slowly until the attack is over.

video shot by Galia Helbaoui and edited by Dr Amer Helbaoui
Category
Health
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