Panic Disorder Blog

Most people with panic disorder find relief from troubling symptoms with medication, psychotherapy or both. But everyone is different, and what works for one person may not be as effective for another. And, there may be limits as to what type of treatment you may receive based on financial considerations or your insurance company guidelines. But, let's say you could have whatever treatment you desire. Would you opt for therapy, medication or both?

Poll: What types of PD treatment do you think work best?

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About 40% of people with panic disorder experience pain in their chest. This frightening symptom leads many to believe they are having a heart attack or have an undiagnosed heart condition. But, often chest pain associated with panic disorder is not related to the heart.

Of course, all chest pain should be evaluated by a doctor before concluding it’s not serious or heart related. There is no way to know for sure what’s causing your chest pain symptoms without seeing your doctor. Not knowing the cause of your chest pain will lead to more anxiety, worry and panic.

Do you experience chest pain with your PD? Leave a comment to tell us about your experience.

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Are your PD symptoms preventing you from having fun in the sun? Summer months are usually filled with picnics, beaches, vacations, spending time with the kids, plenty of outdoor activities and just having fun. But, for these same reasons, the summer season can also be a time of added stress. You don’t have to let your PD symptoms relegate you to the sidelines. There are effective ways you can reduce your anxiety and panic so you can rejoin the warm weather festivities.

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The human brain functions in a complex chemical environment. Researchers now know that brain chemicals play a big part in anxiety and panic. What are these chemicals and how do they get out of balance?

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When choosing a therapist, what do you think is the single most important factor in ensuring a good outcome? Qualifications? Experience? The therapist’s techniques? While all of these are very important, research suggests that the relationship that you have with your therapist tops these factors. In order for therapy to work, you must be able to build a therapeutic alliance with your therapist. Making this choice is a very personal experience, based on your own unique needs and characteristics.

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Hard to believe, but true. A phenomenon called stress-induced analgesia (a loss of the ability to feel pain) occurs when one is confronted with a stressful event that triggers the fight-or-flight stress response. Researchers believe that adrenaline, a stress hormone which is strongly associated with fight-or-flight, may mediate the pain signals processed by the brain, acting like a kind of pain killer. This may be why some people who experience what should be a painful injury may not remember experiencing very intense pain during the incident.

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We all know that eating right helps us feel better. But, can certain things we eat or drink be making us anxious, or worse, contributing to panic attacks? Studies have shown that people with panic disorder are more sensitive to certain substances than are people without the disorder. Of course, everybody's different. By keeping a food journal you can monitor how you feel and see if you can find the ingredients for panic in your diet.

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If you have never had recurring panic attacks, it may be hard to understand the difficulties panic disorder causes. Panic attacks can develop into an all-consuming “fear of the fear” that is difficult to describe. If someone has a fear of a specific thing, spiders for example, it’s a little easier. But the fear associated with panic disorder often causes many behavioral changes that are uncharacteristic of your loved one. This is often frustrating and confusing.

Understanding the fear associated with panic disorder can help you better support your family member or friend. Gaining this awareness will allow you to better understand the complexities of this perplexing illness.

Self-esteem is used to describe how people feel about themselves and their abilities. Panic disorder can drastically change our self-perception. The fear of panic disorder frequently causes one’s abilities to become inabilities. Even things once done easily and taken for granted, can become quite difficult. It is no wonder that one’s self-esteem is often negatively impacted by such life-changing events.

No matter where you’re at on your recovery from panic disorder, improving your self-esteem will prove beneficial. Many studies have shown that increasing self-esteem has a positive influence on one’s satisfaction with life in general. There are things you can do to increase and preserve your self-esteem.

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Is stress causing your heart to pound and your head to ache? It’s easy to let stress get the best of us. It gains power when we feel most vulnerable, and its influence can complicate just about every area of our lives. If you’re stressed out, you may feel frustrated, angry, nervous and worried. These feelings are likely to have a negative affect on your family, work and social life.

Persistent and unhealthy stress often leads to increased anxiety. If you have panic disorder, more anxiety is the last thing you probably need. In the long-term, unchecked stress has also been indicated in a variety of physical illnesses, such as heart disease, stomach problems, and pain.

The good news is you can learn to manage your stress. There are a variety of effective stress management techniques that are just right for you.

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