For a Paxil-free life, she'll take the long route
It takes some time, but this student learns there's no quick fix for panic attacks.
By Summer Beretsky, Special to The Times
March 3, 2008
Some people can't stand the word "irregardless." A close friend of mine cannot stand hearing the word "panty" used in the singular.
My pet peeve is the misuse of the words "panic attack."
My cohort of grad school classmates frequently drop the phrase when they've had a mildly difficult night putting the finishing touches on a research paper: "Oh my God, I had a panic attack when I couldn't find that 2007 Caplan article I needed to cite!" I've heard others throw it around in other trivial ways: "Oh, I'm going to have a panic attack! I can't decide which purse to wear!"
These are not panic attacks. Call them shocks, scares or dilemmas. But not panic attacks...
The author goes on to describe her problem, the problems she had trying to fix the problem, and how she finally solved the problem.
She had a difficult time with the medication she took, finally went off it, and eventually got better:
After my motivation and emotions returned, I started doing what I should have done when my panic attacks began: I became an information-seeking machine. I read books. I sought out alternative therapies. I took an anxiety-management class, tried acupuncture and learned about mindfulness meditation.
What she learned is that the cornerstone of treatment for panic disorder is education. Ideally, that would come first. It does not work for everyone, but when it does, it can provide the ideal outcome.
It's a nicely-written story. A bit uplifting, too, to read about a good outcome.
In actual practice, it is difficult for many people to learn what they need to learn, and understand what they need to understand, in order for them to manage panic without medication. And for some people, it does not seem to matter how well they master the material.
And for others -- this is the ironic part -- learning about their condition not only fails to help, it makes them more anxious.
The point is that there is no one treatment that works for everyone. The strategy is to try different things, cautiously but persistently, until the problem is solved.
Brain & Behavior
Comments
I have had off-and-on problems with panic attacks since my teens and a moderate case of claustrophobia. I avoided enclosed spaces that I couldn't leave when I wanted to, like elevators and public transit. I tried taking an anti-depressant for a while several years back, but it didn't help. Interestingly enough though, when I started taking a beta blocker as one of my medications to treat high blood pressure a few years back, the claustrophobia pretty much went away. I no longer avoid those situations, like elevator rides, that I used to. I've had a few panic attacks since then where my mind started racing and filled with panicky thoughts but I didn't experience the associated physical sensations and they quickly passed.
Posted by: ChuckO | March 7, 2008 10:38 AM