A Problem With Drug Treatment for Panic Attacks

Don't Get Caught In This Trap

There's a problem with drug treatment for panic attacks that I don't want to affect you. It's a mind set that can be at least as dangerous as any physical drug side effect.

On Medications for Anxiety and Panic Attacks, I talk about prescription drugs that can help as part of the treatment of anxiety disorders, especially in the early stages. Long term, I strongly believe other therapies such as cognitive restructuring give the most durable relief.

I favor behavioral cognitive restructuring, but other approaches may work best for other people. How to find the right therapy and therapist is a topic for another day. Right now, I want to talk about a different point: the dark side of using drugs for panic attacks.

My Non-Medical Opinion

You may have noticed that I tend to emphasize that medications are best used as a temporizing measure in the short term.

That’s my non-medical belief, but I don’t want to give the impression that I think that long term, even permanent, use of medications is wrong in an of itself.

For some people it is absolutely necessary and I support medical therapy for them.

I completely understand that some people have tried all manner of therapy in addition to the medication they're taking but even so run into problems if they try to stop the meds. I have no problem with the long term use of medications in situation like that.

My concern is for people who don’t look into other therapy and only want to take a drug to try to eliminate their problems. I want to counteract the too-common idea in our culture that the answers to our problems lay in a bottle of pills.

Our Legal Drug Culture

Stuffed up nose? Here’s the pill for it. Indigestion from eating too much? Don’t bother changing your eating habits, take this pill. Can’t sleep? Got a pill for that too.

Not surprisingly, there are lots of pills offered for anxiety. They can be a help, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re a cure. We all need to take more responsibility for our own well-being, both physical and mental. Look for answers that truly address the root cause, the source of the problem, not just a pill that most often serves to treat the symptom only.

With panic attacks and anxiety disorders, it may take some looking around and experimenting to find the approach that’s right for you. It's well worth the effort because that's how you'll find a permanent solutions.

Effective Treatment

A great many people free themselves with self guide therapy using a program like Panic Away.

Others do better working with a therapist.

A common combination is for a person to work with their family doctor, getting medication and some degree of counseling from them, while working with a program like the one I just mentioned. This can be a good alternative when a skilled therapist isn't readily available. (With all respect to family docs, most are too busy to have the time to undertake a complete counseling program even if they have the inclination.)

A Metaphor

The main point is to accept responsibility for yourself and know that you need to carry out your own treatment to get lasting results. Your doctor or therapist is a coach, not a mechanic. Going to them is not like taking you car to a mechanic.

A car with a glitch doesn’t have to do anything. The mechanic fixes it. We’re not like that, even though a lot of people would like it to be that way.

The better comparison for us is the relationship between an athlete and a coach. An athlete can have all the potential in the world and get the best advice from the best coaches, but the only way they’ll get results is if they do the work. No one can do it for them.

Of course today even athletes are looking for the answer with drugs, so maybe this comparison isn’t quite as good as it used to be. In a way that just shows how pervasive our societies drug-fix mentality has gone.

Finding a Long Term Answer

My main point still holds. You’ll get the best results if you accept responsibility, gather information, get guidance from reliable sources and put in the effort required. Drugs can help, but they usually are best as an aid.

As I’ve said repeatedly, when you first have symptoms of a panic attack, you should get a medical evaluation. If the diagnosis of panic attacks is confirmed, your doctor may well offer a prescription. That’s all well and good, but don’t let that be the end of the story.

I hope your doctor will suggest other therapies as well, but even if they don’t explore them on your own.

Again, you can read my thoughts on what I consider to be an excellent program on the page Panic Away Review.

What ever course you take, know that you can find relief and when you do it will be a much better answer than just taking a pill.

Here's an answer that's helped thousands and thousands of of people already:

Panic Away