How to overcome Panic Attacks Part 1

 

     According to the National Institute of Mental Health, panic disorder affects approximately 6 million American adults over the age of 18 in any given year. This translates to about 2.7 percent of the adult population in the United States. Panic Disorder typically develops in early adulthood, but it may also begin in childhood or later adulthood. Women are twice as likely as men to get the disorder, and individuals with a biological relative such as a mother, father or sibling with a panic disorder are 8 times more likely to develop the condition.

     Panic disorders are one of several anxiety related illness. Other anxiety disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Specific Phobias and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

     Emotional symptoms vary however attacks are often sudden and characterized by intense feelings of terror and fear without the presence of actual danger. The symptoms of a panic attack usually happen suddenly, peak within 10 - 15 minutes and then subside. After having a panic attack there may be extreme anxiety for several hours. Often times the panic episode causes excessive worry about having another attack. It is not unusual for one to become so consumed with worry, that he or she develops behavioral changes in the hopes of avoiding another attack. This may lead to the development of agoraphobia (fear of going out).

      Physical symptoms may include severe difficulty breathing, nervousness, heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea, trembling, chest pain, sweating, tingling in extremities. No wonder panic attacks are often first thought of as a cardiac episode. It certainly mimics it.

     The first step in treatment is admitting you have it! Then you need to be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional. This could be your primary care physician, a psychologist or psychiatrist, a homeopath or holistic health practitioner.

     The American Psychiatric Association suggests a combination of psychotherapy and medication to treat panic disorder. Psychotherapy is usually performed by an experienced counselor, social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist. The usual medications to treat panic disorder are antidepressants (SSRI such as such as Prozac, Paxil and Lexapro) and anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines such as Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax) Antidepressants are often prescribed even if the individual does not have clinical depression because many antidepressants also inhibit panic attacks. They are all meant to be used as mood stabilizers. 

     Before Big Pharma and the advancement of technology, herbs and various natural formulas were used to treat patients all around the world.  Some of the most effective herbs for treating panic and anxiety are St. John's Wort, Griffonia Flower, Lavender and Passion Flower. Combinations of these herbs can produce surprisingly positive results, especially when used in conjunction with therapy, relaxation techniques, or meditation.

Herbs/Aromatherapy (Be looking for future articles)

Lavender: This is a very popular herb. In the majority of my aromatherapy blends I make I use lavender because it can sooth and calm you very quickly. Unless you have an allergy to it, it is very safe to use.

Passion Flower: This is known as a sedative and therefore can help to treat nervousness and relieve anxiety. It is often in sleep formulas. It is also regarded as very safe.  In a 4-week, double-blind study individuals with anxiety compared passionflower to the standard drug Oxazepam (benzodiazepine) Oxazepam worked more quickly, but by the end of the 4-week trial, both treatments proved equally effective. Furthermore, passionflower showed a comparative advantage in terms of side-effects.

Griffonia Flower: This is the flower that produces 5HTP. It is the precursor to the amino acid Tryptophan which is found in abundance in turkey. It has calming effects and can is seen in various formulas for anxiety and or depression.

St John's Wort: Perhaps the most researched herb, St John's Wort is a mood enhancer and has proven to be very effective at treating both anxiety and depression. It has been called Nature's Prozac due to the successful studies that prove its efficacy. Many parts of Europe use St John's Wort as the main treatment for depression. It is not unusual to see it used in Germany, Sweden and France as a first line treatment. It does cause sun sensitivity and does have a few interactions with medications however. You should be under the care of a qualified practitioner while taking it.

Valerian: Much like Passion Flower, this herb is best known as a remedy for insomnia. However, because many drugs useful for insomnia also reduce anxiety, valerian has been proposed as an anxiety treatment as well. According to a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study published by Andreatini R, Sartori in 2002, it was thought that Valerian was effective if not more so then Valium. It is very safe and effection, however it smells like my son's socks!

Kava: Up until 2002, the herb kava was widely used (especially in Europe) as a medical treatment for anxiety, based on the evidence of a substantial body of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. However, because of concerns involving its potential effects on the liver, it has been withdrawn from the market in many countries, and I do not recommend its use.

Other supplements: There is evidence that numerous other supplements help with anxiety. They include (but by no means limited to) Lemon Balm, Lysine, Magnesium, Fish Oil, Arginine, Gotu Kola, Skullcap, Sage, Chamomile, Hops, Selenium, Inositol and GABA.

Combinations: If you want a formula that blends high-quality natural ingredients in the right proportions, then you can try Luminex (through the Melaleuca company for which I am a distributor), Relagen www.relagen-store.com/, Seredyn, www.seredyn.com/, or Anxietol store.medabiotics.com/anxietol7.html. All of these formulas contain natural ingredients that can have a positive effect on your mood, while calming and soothing your nerves to relieve tension. I can not personally speak for any of them except Luminex however I have read and heard good things about all of the products.

Homeopathic (Future articles on the way)

Homeopathic remedies are a system of medicine based on the principles of “like curing like”. It is also extremely diluted to around 1,000,000,000,000 parts of water. This makes it extremely safe and will not interact with any medicines. A site that I have used over the years is: http://www.abchomeopathy.com/homeopathy.htm It has free online self diagnosis online software that may assist you in finding the correct remedy. The questions may seem odd to you however the remedies are based on your emotional, spiritual and physical state. Some of the products can be purchased in health food stores. Others you will need to either order online or get from a Homeopath. We are VERY fortunate to have one of the best Homeopathic doctors Dr. Martin Keene here in St. Petersburg. He is one of the few licensed medical professionals in the Southeast U.S. to have board certification in Classical Homeopathy. He is published, teaches and has presented lectures. He is at Classical Medicine in St. Petersburg. www.classicalmedicine.net/index.htm

Bach Flower (Be watching for future articles)

I mentioned Rescue Remedy in my article on grief. It is perhaps the best known flower remedies. It contains five single remedies: Rock Rose, Clematis, Impatient, Star of Bethlehem and Cherry Plum. It was formulated for extreme fear and terror; great anguish and suffering; and to help to cope with shock, loss and grief. It can be purchased at health food stores and it a wonderful oral liquid supplement for anyone having stressful times. The inventor, Dr. Edward Bach thought that dew collected from the flowers of plants contains some of the properties of the plant, and that it was more potent on flowers grown in the sun. As it was impractical to collect dew in quantity, so he decided to pick flowers and steep them in a bowl of water under sunlight. The result of this process is what he called "mother tincture", which is further diluted before sale or use. I consider it more on the line of vibrational or energy healing rather then homeopathic, with the idea that a "positive energy" can redirect or neutralize "negative energy". My article on grief has links to local establishments where it can be purchased.

Please look for the rest of my article (Part 2)