What are the Causes of Panic Disorder?
Till now the studies are have not shown what the exact cause for panic disorder is. However, there are certain factors or combination of factors that can increase the risk of anxiety disorder. This includes:
- Panic disorder may be inherited – studies show that there is high risk to suffer from panic disorder if it has been in the family before
- Drug and alcohol abuse – the studies show that 30% of people suffering from anxiety disorder use alcohol
- Caffeine and smoking – the use of caffeine and tobacco can increase the risk of having anxiety attacks and developing anxiety disorder
- Major life transformations or long exposure to stress – this can include death of close people, divorce or losing your job
How Can You Diagnose Panic Disorder?
Due to the fact that most of the people think that the panic attacks are just a period and will fade away, their condition is sometimes very difficult to diagnose. And this is not because the symptoms are not obvious but because often people do not pay attention to them or refuse to seek help. If you think that you may have developed anxiety disorder, the first thing that you have to do is call your GP. It is important to be honest and tell your GP exactly how you feel. The criteria to be diagnosed with anxiety disorder is experiencing sudden and repeatable anxiety attacks which are followed by at least one month intense and continuous worry about having another attack.
Possible Treatments for Anxiety
Although anxiety disorder can cause discomfort and change our normal lifestyle dramatically, the condition is highly treatable. There are two main possibilities for treating anxiety disorders. These are psychotherapy and medication. In some of the most severe cases, anxiety can be treated with a combination of medication with therapy.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is the most common and the most successful method of treating an anxiety disorder. In most cases, therapists use cognitive behavior therapy which is extremely useful as a treatment. The core of this therapy is that it shows a person how to change his attitude, how to change reactions and change the way of thinking in positive way. This process helps to ease the symptoms of panic attacks and slowly take control of them as the final step is to decrease the anxiety attacks to minimum and get total control over them.
Medication
As a way of treatment your doctor can decide to prescribe you medicine. The most common medications that are used for anxiety disorder treatment are antidepressants. Usually antidepressants are used to treat depression but they can also be used for anxiety disorders. If you have decided to start medication as a treatment, you have to consider some important facts. Certain medications can have side effects, you will have to take drugs for a certain period of time and only under the supervision of your doctor.
