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Panic disorders cause recurrent panic attacks, a sudden and unexpected rush of intense symptoms that can make you feel like you’re having a heart attack or dying. At Bellevue Psychiatry in Kennewick, Vancouver, Bellevue, and Kirkland, Washington, you can get help for panic disorder from a team of compassionate and highly qualified mental health professionals. If you need help stopping panic attacks, call the nearest office or request an appointment online. The team offers a quick response and can meet in the office or through telepsychiatry.
What is panic disorder?
Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that causes sudden, recurrent panic attacks when there’s no current danger or circumstance to cause the fear.
Panic attacks are short-lived but intense and cause ongoing anxiety about when the next attack may appear. The attacks may recur many times an hour or several times yearly.
What symptoms define panic disorder?
During a panic attack, you’ll experience at least four of the following symptoms:
- Excessive sweating
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Dizziness or faintness
- Feeling of choking
- Flushes or chills
- Nausea or stomach problems
- Numbness or tingling sensations
- Rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Shortness of breath or feeling like you’re smothering
- Fear you’re dying
- Fear you’re losing mental control
- Feeling detached from yourself or your environment
Panic attacks often make you feel as though you’re having a heart attack or that you have a lung condition preventing you from breathing.
How is panic disorder diagnosed?
The Bellevue Psychiatry team does a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, where they learn about your panic attacks and symptoms. As a general guideline, they diagnose panic disorder if you:
- Have panic attacks (not caused by another mental health condition)
- Have ongoing worry, dread, or fear over having another panic attack
- Make behavioral changes that disrupt your ability to function in daily life in an effort to prevent another panic attack (even though they can’t be predicted)
The cause of panic disorder is still being studied and likely involves a combination of genetics, brain chemistry, environment, and personality.
How is panic disorder treated?
The Bellevue Psychiatry team provides personalized, integrative treatments that help you overcome panic disorder and build a thriving life. Your provider may recommend psychotherapy (talk therapy) and/or medications, depending on your unique needs.
If you need medication, your provider may prescribe antidepressants. They work by balancing the brain chemicals that regulate mood and anxiety.
Another class of medications, benzodiazepines, can prevent panic attacks and relieve symptoms after an attack begins. However, you can develop a dependence on benzodiazepines, so they’re primarily for short-term treatment.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is most often used to teach people with panic disorder how to overcome anxiety, control thoughts and behaviors, and prevent panic attacks.
Your Bellevue Psychiatry provider may recommend other approaches like exposure therapy (confronting your fears) and relaxation or breathing exercises.
Bellevue Psychiatry offers exceptional treatment for panic disorder. Schedule an appointment by calling the office or requesting an appointment online today.