Anxiety disorders and panic attacks are significantly more severe than feelings of worry or unease that most people go through. Anxiety or panic attacks are abrupt increases of overpowering fear appearing without warning or apprehension cause. They can be inhibiting a person suffering from such attacks from living a happy and full life.
However, various anxieties treatments and self-help approaches can aid in decreasing anxiety symptoms and taking back control of one's life. One of the approaches is behavioral therapy, meaning that it concentrates on behavior rather than on psychological psychological tensions or problems from the past. Behavioral therapy for panic attacks and anxiety typically require between 5 and 20 weekly sessions. Two of the recognized kinds of behavioral therapy are cognitive – behavioral therapy and exposure therapy.
Cognitive – behavioral therapy concentrates on thoughts (ie cognitions) additionally to behaviors. In treatment of anxiety disorder, this method of therapy helps a person recognize and confront the irrational beliefs and negative thinking patterns that anxiety is based on.
In exposure therapy, the person undergoing anxiety treatment faces his fears in a secure, controlled setting. In the course of several imagined or real contacts with the feared entity or condition, the person gets a better perception of control. The anxiety progressively fades away while the person confronts his or her fears without getting any injury or harm.
A number of other treatments, such as relaxation, hypnosis, exercise, and biofeedback, are good supplements to therapy. In some cases, these treatments alone may give a satisfactory relief. Other methods that would be helpful if taken seriously are yoga, meditation, and pranayama (ie breathing exercises).
When practiced on a regular basis, relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization can boost feelings of emotional comfort.
From time to time, hypnosis is utilized in combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Hypnotherapist puts you in a state of deep trance, and uses various techniques to aid you meet the fears and see them in a different light. There are options as well: hypnosis can be a classical one, which is a more direct type of hypnosis, or 'ericksonian' one, which uses indirect suggestions rather than commands.
Exercise inherently relieves anxiety and breaks stress. Half an hour of exercise two to four times a week can give a major stress relief. For maximum gain, try an hour of aerobic exercise on three to five days a week.
Biofeedback uses sensors to assess particular physiological functions (breathing, heart rate, muscle tension, etc.). Biofeedback trains in getting familiar with the body's anxiety reaction and in controlling them through relaxation.
Yoga, meditation, and pranayama (breathing exercises) are great stress relieves. If you are serious about getting rid of those panic attacks and anxiety, consider these holistic approaches to personal well-being and try practicing one of these eastern systems, which offer both philosophy and techniques.