Panic disorder attacks can be extremely frightening for many patients. If left untreated, it can also be life threatening in some rare cases. In many cases, patients may not be diagnosed with an individual anxiety disorder – one or more sub-types may be present in such cases. So, it is common to find patients having panic disorder with agoraphobia. Since there is more than one type of anxiety disorder is present, the complexities of treatment should be much higher than the treatment of individual type.

The Combination of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

Quite obviously, when panic disorder gets associated with agoraphobia, it becomes more complex to conduct the treatment. Since in such case, patients experience primarily three types of panic attacks – unexpected panic attacks, situational panic attack, and situational predisposition for panic attack. Unexpected panic attacks occur with or without any proper reason. They even occur when the victim is relaxing or sleeping.

On the other hand, situational panic attacks occur in many patients who are suffering from panic attack disorder overlapped by agoraphobia. Also common among this group of people is situational predisposition of panic attack. This condition can be triggerd in a specific situation, however, this is not a regular tradition.

Possible Treatment Approaches

People suffering from Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia can benefit from a combination of psychotherapy and medication. In addition, they are also encouraged to find relief in alternative approaches such as meditation, deep breathing, relaxation, and guided imagery. Many health practitioners suggest taking herbal medications like Kava Kava for relief from anxiety symptoms.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):

According to the study conducted by Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder Foundation, over 80-85% of people suffering from Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia receive benefit after eight to ten therapeutic sessions and in most of the cases, they may be relieved from their fear. Cognitive behavioral approach is used to restructuring the distorted cognitive structure. In simple terms, cognitive behavioral approach allows the patient to monitor their recurrent thoughts and consequent behavioral patterns. Since the behavioral approach is also employed, it helps to alter undesired behavior pattern.

Medication:

Medication is very important for treating anxiety disorder of any type. Medication helps in alleviating severe symptoms of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. Traditional medications are used to treat such patients. The common medications involved are anti-anxiety medication, anti-depression medication, anti-stress medication, SSRI and few other psychiatric medications. However, medications bring many adverse reactions, such as nausea, headache, vomiting, stomach upset, irritability, confusion, irregular bowel syndrome, which are the short-term side effects of these types of medication. On the other hand, drug dependence, and withdrawal are the long-term side effects of anti-anxiety medications.