| Panic
Attack ? Fear. These are both terrible words. If you have had more than a
couple of Panic Attacks, you will begin to fear having another one. This can
end up being as debilitating as the Panic Attacks themselves. If you are in fear of having another Panic Attack, you will probably start to avoid going or doing things that you might think will give you another one. These are usually the activities and places where you have had Panic Attacks in the past. This fear can limit your entire life. It will have an effect on your personal life, your family, friends, marriage, work, etc. This fear has a spiraling effect, the more isolated you feel, the more stressed and depressed you get, and the more you will have Panic Attacks. This is not something you want to fall into. If at all possible, Panic Attacks should be stopped and controlled before you get to this point, making your recovery that much easier. In very severe cases, you can become homebound and unable to function. The fear of the Panic Attack will start to dominate your life. What this fear will do is start you to avoiding things. For example, if you believe you will have a heart attack if you over exert yourself, you will avoid anything that makes your heart beat fast, such as running, sports, exercising or walking up steps. This type of behavior just keeps getting worse and worse and if put into the situation where your heartbeat speeds up, you will give yourself another Panic Attack. There are two common thoughts of how to change this type of behavior. One is called ?flooding? and the other is called ?desensitization?. Flooding is where you will throw yourself headfirst into what you fear. Desensitization is where you take steady and gradual steps towards overcoming your fear. For example, if you were afraid of having a heart attack during exercise, you would probably do the following. The first day, you would take a short walk, the next day, a longer walk and so on and so forth. Fear of Panic Attacks can seem like it is incurable, but, if you find the right technique, fear can be overcome and you can be cured of Panic Attacks. |