Panic attacks can be very severe and frequent. They are caused by a number of psychological conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder or post traumatic stress, amongst others. Preventing panic attacks can be achieved through a number of methods such as those mentioned in the following tips.

Many people are so badly affect by panic attacks that they let it take over their lives. They do not like going out and they don’t take part in activities. They fear that they will make a fool of themselves. The panic attack is normally temporary, but it does feel very long when it is happening. Many people describe the incident as a heart attack. In fact, a lot of people are rushed into the hospital thinking that they are having a heart attack when it is not.

Try to avoid caffeine, which is present in tea, coffee, chocolate, and colas. Research at the University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil has shown that if you suffer from panic attacks, caffeine makes both your chances of having an attack and the severity of the attack much more serious. If you can reduce caffeine, or avoid it altogether, you will have more success in preventing panic attacks

Breath control.

One of the symptoms of panic attacks is hyperventilation, which makes you feel light headed and dizzy. Breathing deeply and slowly will help you to control this, and can help you to stop it from starting! So practice taking slow, deep breaths to control or even prevent panic attacks. There are many other health benefits to doing this, too, such as improved circulation and better quality sleep.

Think positively!

Many people say that thinking happy or positive thoughts - or nothing at all - when they feel a panic attack starting, they can stop it or at least reduce it. Think of a happy occasion, a scene from your favourite film, or your favourite song to make yourself feel more positive. You have to train yourself to turn these thoughts on at will, which can be difficult in the beginning. Until this becomes easy for you, try counting down from 100 to 1. If you can combine this with your slow breathing, so much the better!

Exercise.

Did you know that a rush of adrenaline often accompanies a panic attack? You can avoid these rushes by exercising. Good news if you hate gyms - walking for about half an hour every day, ideally in a park, woodland or other natural environment, is enough. This helps you to release the adrenalin that your body builds up and stores, so there is never a large amount in your body that can make a panic attack worse. You will find, also, that as you are walking (or cycling, or whatever you choose), you will be breathing more deeply, and probably thinking positive thoughts!

All of these things will help. Sometimes, though, they are not enough. You may need some professional help for a while, and these experts may use techniques such as hypnosis or cognitive behavioural therapy which will help to identify the problem and then develop the techniques that will help you most to control your panic attacks or prevent them completely.

Understanding what causes panic attacks is the key to treating them and being able to have a better quality life. It is important to make clear what a panic attack isn’t, as much as what it is, because there are so many myths and untruths out there, and of course we are frightened by what we don’t know.

For example, a panic attack is NOT physically harmful, it will not kill you, it is not a sign that you are ‘psycho’ - and it will not cause any more serious health conditions. However, it is a sign that something is wrong and needs treating. It’s as simple as that.

Basically, panic is an intense degree of anxiety. Anxiety is when we feel apprehensive about a situation that is real or imaginary and it is a natural thing for us to feel because it is part of the ‘fight-or-flight’ mechanism that helps us to survive. This response protects us - it does not harm us. It makes our minds and bodies ready to escape from or eliminate what is threatening us.

But sometimes our minds overreact and interpret it as something it is not, and the result is a panic attack. Too much stress can bring on the ‘fight-or-flight’ response, even though it is not relevant to the actual situation. The stress can be life stress, such as losing your job, the death of a loved one, the breakup of a relationship, exams or promotion worries; or it may be caused by physical factors such as too much stimulation - too much caffeine, alcohol or sugar, for example, or too high an exposure to artificial lightning. Unresolved emotional issues may also be the cause.

So your body goes into ‘fight-or-flight’ mode. Blood is directed away from your fingers and toes so that more is available to the heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Your heart begins to pump faster to increase the blood flow to these organs. It needs more fuel - air - to do this, so your lungs work harder to get more oxygen into the body quickly. In other words, you experience numbness, tingling feelings, trembling, a pounding heart, ‘laboured’ breathing… There are many more reactions in the process, all with physical signs. If there is no real danger and these things are happening anyway, your mind starts to look for physical causes - are you dying? Are you being strangled? Is something wrong with your heart? Or perhaps it is your mind that is diseased? It is looking for a reason for this, so it understands how to react.

The mind is now afraid of the symptoms themselves and this fear increases the occurrence of the symptoms - you are having a panic attack!

Because Panic Disorder is complex, medication is usually combined with behavioral and cognitive therapy. In the beginning, medication is normally needed to help the sufferer enter phase 1 of the psychiatric treatment. Later on, as the psychiatric treatment becomes more effective, the medication can be reduced until finally the psychiatric treatment means that medication is no longer needed. Eventually, the sufferer should be able to apply the techniques learned successfully, and psychiatric treatment is no longer needed either.

Everyone is different when it comes to panic attack disorders.

The cause for one person may be completely different for another. No two cases are exactly alike. There are different treatment methods, including techniques that can be done at home.

If medication is the method that your doctor has decided to treat you with, you should be aware of the side effects that may occur. While the medication prescribed may have negative side effects it will have a set of benefits as well.

It is good to know what you may encounter before you begin taking any panic disorder medication.

Serotonin levels affect our mental state and the positive way that we feel. There are several medications that can be prescribed that boost serotonin levels. Some of these types of medications are Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil and Luvox. These have been known to reduce panic attacks by up to 85 percent. These are all pills that must be taken once a day.

As with any medication, allergic reactions are always a possibility. Rashes and swelling of the throat are symptoms that should not be ignored. Less serious side effects are dizziness, nausea, weight loss or gain and decreased sex drive.

A doctor should be contacted if symptoms of anxiety become worse with any medication.

Panic disorder medication that is used for the treatment of panic attacks does work. It can take up to eight weeks to feel the effects or as little as one week. You will start to notice that you can be in any situation without feeling scared that you are going to have an attack. Medication that is prescribed to aid in sleeping without having anxiety will work right away.

While most of the medicines prescribed for depression and anxiety will have side effects, they will normally be reduced in a couple of weeks.If panic disorder medication that is essential for you to function properly is discontinued you may have a difficult time coping. This should be done under the supervision of a doctor or psychotherapist so that they can help you with the transition.

It may take up to a year to begin feeling good without using medication. Realize that the road to living an anxiety free life will be a challenge that will be even more difficult without panic disorder medication.

There is hope, there is help, you just have to be willing to reach out and grab it.

We usually view anxiety as something which is intrinsically negative when on the contrary it can help us achieve our goals by enhancing our levels of performance, increased alertness and make our mental faculties more acute. However, with rising levels of anxiety, most of its positive effects start disappearing and are instead replaced by feelings of emotional irritability, physical discomfort and lack of the ability to concentrate amongst other things. If any of these symptoms persist with increased levels of severity, you could well become a victim of anxiety disorders, which despite being problematic, can be treated successfully.

One must be aware of the signs and symptoms associated with anxiety disorders before taking recourse to any treatment or medication. Most of the times, anxiety disorders are mistaken for usual stress-related problems or even depression which share a few similar symptoms and hence needs a careful diagnosis to be made. Common symptoms for anxiety disorders could be sweating heavily, palpitation, muscular tension and difficulty in breathing. Again, there are a variety of anxiety disorders in existence including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder amongst others. Treatments are also available for most of the disorders including behavioral therapeutic approach and medications including specialized generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder medicines amongst others.

Graduating from anxiety symptoms, sometimes the condition reaches such an extreme that anxiety or panic attack occurs. It is an event in which the victim is suddenly overpowered by anxiety-related symptoms and could feel like he or she is having a heart attack. The person suffers from extreme panic leading to aggravated levels of fatigue, dizziness and might face difficulty in breathing. It is of utmost importance that the person resorts to necessary therapeutic measures to stop panic attack or keep a check on the condition in the least. If the panic attack recurs, it can develop into panic disorder which is a full-fledged manifestation of panic attacks occurring frequently. This is one of the most-feared forms of anxiety disorders which makes the person feel like losing control of his life and can lead to adverse psychological consequences for the person. Slowly, the victim stops going to places where he fears an attack might occur and no help would be available at hand. This is known as Agoraphobia, fear of panic attacks recurring in public places.

Such patients can be treated with effective combination of medication and behavioural therapy. Panic disorder medicines are made available which doctors recommend for keeping the condition under control. Usually such medicines meant to stop panic attack and cure panic disorders are suggested to take in combination with behavioural therapy. Counseling and family support too is great supporting tool. Several relaxation exercises and physiological methods are advised which help in treatment and maintaining better health.

Some serotonin reuptake inhibitors are highly effective panic disorder medicines. They help human body by enhancing serotonin level found in its neurotransmitters. Panic disorder is controlled through them which reduce frequency of panic attacks. Depression and Agoraphobia can be cured effectively by successfully using these medicines. Sufferers feel moderate improvement in condition in 1 o 3 weeks. But for better improvement patients may have to wait for at least 6 to 8 weeks. In case you feel that desired improvement is not there in stated time period discuss the matter with your doctor. Do remember that such medicines have many side effects such as feeling drowsiness, irritability, headaches, nausea and insomnia amongst others. Don’t stop taking medicines abruptly and have them as per doctor’s instruction and take medicines in lower dosages. You can do gradual discontinuation of medicine but make sure that it is done properly otherwise panic reoccurrence can happen which is more chronic.

One of the common but effective alternative medicine options is benzodiazepines which is recommend to treat this disorder. This panic disorder medicine is applied either through oral medication or by injecting in the body. Another medicine named alprazolam is excellent and is of great support in lessening nervous tension. It keeps anxiety level low. Antidepressants and benzodiazepines are prescribed in combination. Benzodiazepines have added advantage over antidepressants particularly in the form of lesser side effects as compared to other medicines. They are better in providing immediate relief from panic disorder.

Have gradual recovery and better control over the frequency of panic attacks through medication and behavioural therapies available to treat panic disorder. It is good to stop panic attack. Doctors always recommend emotional support which is most important in the behavioural therapy. In case you are aware of someone suffering from panic disorder help the person by bringing him/her immediately for medical treatment. This way you would be helping that person from further mental and psychological damage which is great service to humanity.