How Psychotherapy Helps People with Panic Attacks

How Psychotherapy Helps People with Panic Attacks

Clinical psychology is a field that allows people suffering from mental disorders to find help. A panic attack can take a person by surprise, cause incredible levels of anxiety and make functioning impossible. Attacks are especially unnerving if there is no evidence of any immediate danger or threat to the individual who is suffering the attack. Panic attacks are generally caused by either remembering traumatic events or worrying about bad things that will happen in the future. Clinical psychology has some straightforward answers as to why panic attacks happen, and clinical psychologists have developed some effective coping mechanisms for people who experience panic attacks.

How Psychotherapy Can Help

Psychotherapy can help a patient suffering from panic disorder via a two-pronged approach. First, engaging in psychotherapy with a clinical psychology professional will teach a patient coping mechanisms for dealing with attacks. Second, psychotherapy can help a patient find and recognize the reason for having anxiety in the first place. By uncovering the root cause of the disorder, patients are able to face their fears and potentially quell the anxiety altogether.

One of the coping mechanisms that is taught by clinical psychology professionals is recognizing the early signs that a panic attack is approaching. Whether it's through the recognition of physical symptoms, such as sweaty palms, rapid and shallow breathing, a racing pulse, trembling or other physical symptoms, or in the recognition of avoidance, patients will learn to recognize when an attack may be imminent. Unchecked panic disorder can result in phobias such as Agoraphobia, which causes people to progressively restrict their personal interactions with the outside world.

The second vector of treatment is to help an individual figure out what particular stress or memory is triggering the panic attacks. A clinical psychology professional will recommend the most effective form of psychotherapy. Group therapy is often used to help people with anxiety as it allows them to lean on others facing the same thing. Sometimes one-on-one psychotherapy is more effective in uncovering deeply buried traumatic memories. Once a patient knows what it is that has caused his or her panic attacks, an effective treatment to accelerate recovery can be tailored for the individual by an expert in clinical psychology.

Facing a Panic Attack

Once a patient learns to recognize the symptoms leading up to a full blown panic attack, he or she can then prepare mentally to conquer it. Depending on the physical manifestations, some of the coping mechanisms can be as simple as deep breathing exercises to calm and relax the patient. Since hyperventilation is sometimes a physical symptom, breathing into a paper bag can relieve some of the physical distress. Sometimes aromatherapy can also help calm the mind. There are many other coping mechanisms, each tailored to an individual's specific needs and symptoms.

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