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Medication for panic attacks is usually your doctor’s first line treatment option. They may also suggest some complimentary therapy, and even some self-help therapies. Medication for panic attacks is chemical-based and can work pretty well, although they can have some dreadful side effects. Here, we’ll discuss the pro’s and con’s of using medication.

Medications are used to either improve the ‘mood’, calm and relax, or, reduce the physical symptoms of panic attacks. Generally speaking, they work well enough for most people, which is why they are doctors’ usual first line of defence. Here are 3 broad groups of medications typically being prescribed today…

Anti-depressants are normally prescribed to control mood swings. They are a long term treatment and usually take some time to even start being effective (2 to 6 weeks). They work by managing and controlling the serotonin levels in the brain.  But, they can have various negative side effects like; insomnia, nausea, weight gain, sexual dysfunction.

Anti-anxiety medication is used to relax and calm you by slowing down your central nervous system. Minor tranquilizers can be used for panic attacks because they can act fairly fast, e.g. within 8 to 10 minutes. These can also have bad side effects, things such as; drowsiness, slurred speech, dizziness, headaches, nausea, etc. And they can be addictive if over prescribed. 

Beat -blockers control the physical symptoms of panic attacks, the shaking and tremors. They don’t affect mood or calm you down. They can have some side effects too, e.g. short term memory loss, insomnia, diarrhea, nightmares.

You can see that drug-based medication can be beneficial and some can work work quite quickly, especially for panic attacks. But they do have some side effects, and maybe more importantly, only work on the ‘symptoms’ not the underlying causes for panic attacks. Once you are finished a course of medication, there is no guarantee that the attacks won’t come back again and again.

The alternative to medication are therapies like psychotherapy, counseling, hypnotherapy, group therapy, self-hypnosis, meditation, etc. And whilst these can be effective for some people, they only help you cope with your disorder, not cure it.

But, even with medication and alternative therapies, one of the greatest problems in achieving a cure for panic attacks is that the very fear of an attack can trigger one. That’s right, your fear alone can help cause a panic attack.

Unfortunately, neither medication nor alternative therapies can help you here: they either work on the symptoms or help you cope with your problem. You have to find a way to get rid of your fear of another attack, in order to prevent one ever happening again.

There is a simple technique to help you do this. You can discover the facts here http://eliminatepanicattacks.blogspot.com. You’ll also see the various stages of a panic attack on video.

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