Natural Cure: Panic Attacks
- Article posted by James Thomas
Anyone who has ever experienced a panic attack knows how very frightening these attacks can be.
Symptoms of a panic attack can mimic a heart attack: dizziness, sweating, nausea, chest pains, frantic breathing and many others.
Many doctors prescribe medications to help control panic attacks. However, there are many natural ways to help control and even cure your panic attacks for good.
Here are the top 3 natural treatments used by health professionals today.
Hypnotherapy
One of the most commonly used natural cures for panic attacks is hypnosis. The American Medical Association authorized hypnosis to be used as a health treatment in the 1950’s. Since that time Hypnotherapy’s popularity has grown due to the exceptional results that so many people have experienced. This is particularly the case when it comes to treating panic or anxiety attacks.
In a controlled and calm environment, a qualified Hypnotherapist can take you back to the panic attack event in an alert, yet relaxed state. Through the power of suggestion, the Hypnotherapist then helps you to make positive (neuro) associations to the events surrounding the panic attack and therefore altering your perception of the experience. Then if and when you find yourself in those situations or events in the future, they are far less likely to trigger a panic attack. In fact, this change in perception can take a previously frightening experience and turn it into one that is positive and even enjoyable.
It can take several Hypnotherapy sessions to reinforce these positive (neuro) associations and make a permanent change in the psyche but it definitely does work.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy has also been successful as a natural panic attack treatment and is used to identify the cause(s) of the panic attack. Understanding the cause(s) of your panic attacks provides you with an opportunity to face it and acknowledge it. This process alone has the power to desensitize your nervous system to the cause so that it becomes less likely to trigger a panic attack in the future. A perfect example of this is panic attacks brought about by the fear of flying.
Using cognitive restructuring to examine your beliefs is the first step. Often the beliefs that seem to be the main triggers are very warped from the actual facts. Having to face those beliefs, and learning to believe in the true idea is a huge step forward for many people.
The next step is to re-expose you to the situation that triggered the panic attack (through visualization) in order to desensitize your nervous system. This process is repeated until you are unaffected by that situation and are able to remain calm and centered.
Many professionals believe that simple desensitization is enough to cure panic attacks permanently. In fact this approach has shown to be about 80% effective and often only takes weeks to take effect.
Energy Psychology Therapy
Energy psychology therapy techniques such as ‘Thought Field Therapy’ and ‘Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)’ are seeing an increase in use as an effective natural cures for panic attacks. These techniques use a tapping motion on various acupressure points when the individual feels the beginnings of a panic attack coming on.
This style of therapy has received mixed reviews, although the majority of health professionals do agree that it may help by relieving some anxiety. The theory behind these Energy Psychology techniques is that the tapping is believed to stimulate “mechanoreceptors” – nerve endings in the body. This tapping is believed to normalize (balance) the body’s energy channels and therefore quickly alleviate any surface level tension and stress.
This is a form of therapy that is taught to the patient so that they can perform it upon him or her self when situations arise that might normally trigger a panic attack.
Which Panic Attack Natural Cure Is Best?
While all 3 of these natural treatments are popular and have shown to yield positive results, the majority of health practitioners that specialize in treating people who suffer from panic attacks, believe cognitive behavior therapy to be the most effective.
However, some treatments work well for certain people and not so well for others so I don’t believe you can say that one is necessarily superior to another.
You really need to try them out for yourself so that you can see which works best for you personally. It may be one or even a combination of different treatments that will finally allow you to cure your panic attacks once and for all.
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About The Author
James Thomas is the Founder & Editor for Self Empower Magazine and is one of it’s most active writers. He has spent the last 18+ years working in both the Health and Wellness and Personal Development industries and is passionate about helping others live more health conscious lives. He is a trained counselor, life coach and natural remedies enthusiast.
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