The Most Effective Panic Attack Interventions

People who suffer from panic attacks are worried about having more attacks. Panic attacks are accompanied by fear or discomfort that last for minutes or in severe cases, for hours. The symptoms of anxiety appear a few hours after the attack. The attack is severe, frightening and incapacitating to the patients who experience it. The panic attack appears almost anytime with no anticipating factors which reaches the peak and will last up to 10 minutes. Usually, patients who experiences panic attacks feels like losing control or going crazy, having a heart attack or dying. It can also attack during sleep which may cause exhaustion.

Panic attacks happen almost anytime or spontaneously. They also appear when exposed to situations that trigger the attack. Panic attack also occurs during the exposure to a feared object, social and specific phobias.

Patients are preoccupied with the experience that they had during the panic attack. The fear of being attacked sometimes triggers the panic attack symptoms to appear. Patients may think that they have problems regarding the cardiac, neurological and gastrointestinal system. They will consult their doctors and will know that panic attack is what their real condition is.

Panic attack sometimes leads to a more severe phobia called agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is the fear of public places. Patients may develop fear to places where the panic attack is triggered, especially to places where help is not available and intervention is impossible. This is why patients with panic disorder usually stays at home and lets other people do their activities outside home.

This is why patients with panic disorder needs to be closely watched. However, there are different effective interventions for patients suffering from panic attacks. Here are the following:

* You should make yourself available around the patient so you can help the patient during panic attack. You will have more knowledge about the patient's discomforts.
* Maintain an environment that is calm and with less stressors.
* Avoid using rude words and avoid shouting. Use languages that are easy to understand and use calm voice when talking to them.
* If the patient is hyperventilating. Provide him or her with a brown bag and focus your attention on the breathing pattern of the patient.
* Allow the patient to release their tension by letting them cry, pace or shout. In this way the patient will be able to express the emotion that is stuck within.
* Talk to the patient about how he or she feels and let him or her know that you are in control of the situation.
* Bring the patient to places where stressors are not present. Avoid touching the patient as it can trigger the attack. Usually, patients suffering from panic disorder do not like being touched as it can increase the feeling of fear and panic.
* Ask the patient about how he or she felt and let him or her express his or her perceptions or the feared objects. Let him or her tell you about what they have in mind.
* Contact the people concerned about the situation.

These are examples of simple yet effective intervention you can do to help a patient with panic disorder. Ask your psychiatrist on how to handle a patient with panic disorders. It is very important to consult your doctor about it. Never feel awkward in asking questions that concerns panic disorder. They are more than willing to answer your concerns. Read and know more about it.

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