A panic attack drug or any type of panic attack medication can be helpful, but you need to understand what they do and how they work. If you’re hoping that a medication will stop a panic attack once it starts, you’re out of luck. Medications just don’t work as fast.
A typical panic attack comes out of nowhere and peaks in about ten minutes. Sometimes there are some symptoms that can persist for quite some time, especially the fear of another attack. So a medication can be helpful in reducing lingering side effects, but once a panic attack starts, a medication won’t help. The time is too short.
There are several classes of medications for panic and anxiety attacks, both in the form of natural herbal supplements and prescriptions. Since very few herbal or alternative medications undergo the Federal Drug Administration’s testing programs, they are classified as dietary or dietary supplements. Some people find that anti-anxiety, calming, and nerve tonic herbal supplements work well for them. If you are one of these, consider yourself very lucky.
The most commonly prescribed medications fall into two classes. First, the benzodiazepines that are tranquilizers, a common one is aprolazam (better known as Xanax). These act to lower your daily anxiety levels, which hopefully reduces the incidence or severity of any anxiety or panic attacks. The problem is that these drugs tend to not only make the world at least a little confusing, but are also linked to dependency and addiction. As such, they are a poor long-term solution. Getting hooked on a drug is probably not the result you want.
The most widely used panic attack drug comes from the class of antidepressants called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Once thought to have relatively few long-term side effects, more experience with this class of medication has revealed sleep disturbances, sexual dysfunction, and weight gain as some of the more disturbing long-term side effects. There are also a variety of early-onset side effects including restlessness, nausea, diarrhea, and headaches, although these will usually subside within 2-3 weeks. And they don’t work for everyone either. in that case, doctors will often try one of the benzodiazepines.
As you can see, there is no magic pill that will get rid of panic anxiety disorder. Even with the use of medications, additional forms of treatment are needed. The most successful psychological treatment methods are behavioral and cognitive techniques. Basically, these involve learning how to modify your behaviors and thoughts in order to quickly eliminate an attack or significantly reduce the severity. Since some of the most negative effects of a panic disorder are caused by the feeling of fear and helplessness that it makes people feel, these kinds of action steps can make a big difference. Since much of this is a matter of learning, training, and practice, thousands have used these kinds of behavioral and cognitive techniques without the expense of paying a psychotherapist week after week and month after month.
In a very real sense, taking action is the best drug there is for a panic attack.
