Is There Damage?

A person will not die from a panic attack. But, Panic Anxiety Disorder does indeed cause damage. It is difficult to estimate the misery and loss of overall productivity that this disorder causes.

There is personal pain and humiliation and a restricted lifestyle. There are missed days of work due to panic attacks. There may be unemployment due to partial or complete disability. There is increased risk of alcoholism, depression and suicide.

Add the unhappiness the disorder causes in the loved ones of Panic Anxiety Disorder and the consequential loss of their productivity. You come to realize that the total magnitude of the damage that the disorder causes nationally is staggering. And we haven't even touched on the tremendous cost that the waste of misdiagnosis and unnecessary or inappropriate medical care adds to the damage estimate. Drug and alcohol abuse are the number one public concern of Americans. However, Anxiety Disorders affect more Americans than the combined toll of drug and alcohol abuse. And yet Anxiety Disorders are not even in the top fifty of Americans' public concerns The federal government has developed a plan to deal with this problem.

CAUSES & TREATMENT

What causes Panic Anxiety Disorder?

Twenty years ago Panic Anxiety Disorder was poorly understood even by most experts. It was called Anxiety Neurosis and was thought by some to stem from "deeply rooted" psychological conflicts and subconscious upsetting impulses of a sexual nature.

Now we regard Panic Anxiety Disorder as more of a physical problem with a metabolic core. It is not an emotional problem, although after suffering from it, emotionally healthy persons may develop depression or other problems. There are different theories about where in the nervous system the problem exists.

There is considerable evidence pointing toward an abnormality in the function of the locus ceruleus and its associated nerve pathways. The locus ceruleus is a tiny nerve center in the brainstem(the part of the brain that controls heartbeat, breathing and other vital functions).

Few experts still cling to the notion that this is not a physical disorder. Scientific evidence clearly favors there being a physical cause of panic attacks. It is regarded as a physical disorder much like Diabetes or Pneumonia.

There is hope and help

Is there hope for persons with Panic Anxiety Disorder? Yes. Panic Anxiety Disorder is very treatable. And nearly everyone responds well to proper treatment. Treatment consists of several steps:

A

First a person must be educated about this disorder. Simply learning some of the things mentioned in this brochure will improve matters somewhat by giving hope where there perhaps was despair. Understanding and knowledge gives confidence and a positive expectation so important to the success of any medical treatment.

B

Next, it is necessary to find a medication which can eliminate the panic attacks completely, if at all possible. Psychiatrists experienced in treating Panic Anxiety Disorder have had success using any one of three kinds of medicines:

1. Certain Antidepressants. Tofranil (imipramine) and Paxil (paroxetine) are examples of old and new antidepressants that are useful in treating Panic Anxiety Disorder.

Though approved by the FDA for treating depression, most antidepressants will block panic attacks. Physical dependence does not occur on such medicine.

Successful treatment requires full strength dosage and it usually takes four to eight weeks for the medicine to begin to block the panic attacks. Perhaps half of persons trying this type of medicine are made initially worse to some degree. Certain properties of the medicines tend to trigger more than the usual number of attacks in the first couple of weeks or so. But this discomfort may have to be considered a short term investment in return for a long term gain of recovery. As a rule, the less expensive antidepressants (Tofranil) have more bothersome side effects than the newer more expensive ones (Paxil) .

Here are some examples of antidepressants known by clinicians to be helpful for Panic Anxiety Disorder:

Paxil (paroxetine)

Prozac (fluoxetine)

Zoloft (sertraline)

Sinequan (doxepin)

Tofranil (imipramine)

INSTANT ANXIETY REMEDY!

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Signs and Symptoms of Panic Anxiety Disorder

Is There Damage?

CAUSES & TREATMENT

What causes Panic Anxiety Disorder?

There is hope and help

A

B

1. Certain Antidepressants. Tofranil (imipramine) and Paxil (paroxetine) are examples of old and new antidepressants that are useful in treating Panic Anxiety Disorder.