What to do if you have panic disorder?

Several key ideas that show how to overcome this type of anxiety-related disorder.

Let's see what panic disorder is and what to do about it.Its manifestations and symptoms, and why it is important to see a psychologist if you experience this psychological disorder first hand.

What is panic disorder?

The disorder of panic is a psychopathological syndrome that is characterized by episodes of acute anxiety that manifest themselves repeatedly, spontaneously, abruptly and unexpectedly.. Anxiety or panic attacks can have different durations, from a few minutes to an hour, and reach their maximum intensity in a short period of time.

When this psychological disturbance arises, the person unexpectedly feels an intense experience with a significant level of anguish and discomfort, psychological and physical fear. The person with panic attacks is usually afraid of losing control, dying and going crazy. Panic attacks are not related to a specific object or situation.

Frequently, these people are afraid of having other panic attacks in other similar situations. In addition, panic attacks are often associated with agoraphobia, since panic disorder is related to the fear of facing certain situations from which it would be difficult to escape or get out of, or in which one feels that one is not able to escape.or in which one would feel ashamed to show symptoms or suffering derived from one's own interpretation of reality.

According to the psychologist Florencia Stolo, from the Malaga office of Psychologists Malaga PsicoAbreu, panic disorder is based on fear of a possible attack of anxiety and very high anxiety, an experience in which the person believes that he/she is not able to control the attacks and has an external locus of the situation (that is, an interpretation of the situation in which it is seen as something external to oneself and uncontrollable, which sometimes happens to him/her). The psychologist states that by giving the patient the ability to control his own emotions and crises, he is able to reduce and control them. and control them.

Symptoms

The most frequent symptoms of panic disorder are the following.

• Tachycardia: the heart beats faster.
• Palpitations: the heart beats harder. Heart "flips" are perceived and Blood Pressure rises.
• Choking sensation or shortness of breath.
• Dry mouth.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Pressure or pain in the chest.
• Tingling or numbness in the extremities.
• Hypersweating (excessive sweating).
• tremors
• Unsteadiness, fainting or dizziness.
• Nausea or abdominal discomfort.
• Hot flashes or chills.
• Fear of losing control or consciousness, or of imminent death.

As less frequent symptoms, and in moments of great anxiety they come to experience depersonalization (sensation of strangeness to the environment that surrounds him or to his own body) or derealization (altered perception or experience of the environment that is interpreted as unreal or strange).

What to do if you have panic disorder?

The most important thing is to to go to a sanitary psychologist specialized in treatment of the anxiety to evaluate the specific case. Once in consultation, the psychologist will probably use the following tools and techniques.

Psychoeducation

It will be explained to the patient what is happening to him/her, what panic attacks consist of, his/her symptoms and all the events surrounding the anxiety attacks that have already occurred.The patient will be told about the symptoms and all the events surrounding the anxiety crises that have already happened to him/her. It will also be explained how the panic attacks and his fear of them are affecting his daily life and his relationships with others.

It is useful for the patient to understand how he/she interprets the physical sensations he/she experiences in a catastrophic way.

Relaxation techniques

Various relaxation techniques will be explained to the patient to give him/her tools with which to relax and increase their sense of control over the crises and over everything that happens, which will help them to feel more relaxed.This will help the patient to feel more confident.

The relaxation will allow to carry out the rest of cognitive and behavioral techniques, which will help the person to control the anxiety crises to a greater extent. For example: Jacobson's progressive relaxation technique, diaphragmatic breathing, Schultz's progressive relaxation...

3. Cognitive techniques

To identify and get to know the patient's own dysfunctional thoughts In order to identify and know the patient's own dysfunctional thoughts in the most anxious situations, it is useful to fill in a self-record. Cognitive techniques are also useful to be able to abandon safety behaviors, which allow the person to feel safe in different areas without the need for these maladaptive actions. For example, among the cognitive techniques that the psychologist can use we find Ellis' A-B-C model, cognitive restructuring, Socratic discourse...

4. Techniques to increase self-esteem and self-concept

They are for the patient to feel more confident in the control of the situations that surround him and improve their social relationships and their relationships with their environment.

5. Other psychotherapeutic tools

You can use other tools or procedures such as Mindfulness, EMDR Therapy (Desensitization and reprocessing by eye movements) ... that accelerate or complement all of the above.

PsicoAbreu has psychologists specialized in the treatment of anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, who can help you to recover your daily life.