In general, an anxiety disorder involves having a feeling of dying or losing control. Symptoms such as heart pounding, shaking, breathing difficulty, and extreme fear can occur without any warning and can last for minutes or hours. Symptoms can also include chest pains, choking, abdominal pain (nausea), dizziness, dread, sweating and a desire to flee (Seligman, 2001). Some anxiety attacks are not precipitated by anything noticeable, and others might be triggered by individual situations such as being in a crowd or even becoming overly stressed. When it comes to treatment of anxiety disorders, there are several approaches. One of them involves educating the patient. Sometimes patients have a passive role in this method, regularly listening to health care experts telling them about their anxiety disorder (Ohman, 2000). The information that is given is more often than not broad and usually overly simplified and not pertinent to the patient. In order to prevent this, patients need to take an active role in the learning process. Another approach involves developing the patient’s awareness of their disorder. This approach actually builds up the patient’s self-confidence (Seligman, 2001). With this knowledge the patient’s symptoms would be reduced, and they would be better equipped to handling their attacks. Any changes in the patient’s self-confidence would result in positive health changes developing. Anxiety disorders are conceivably the most common and frequently occurring mental disorders. They can be found in children, adolescents, and adults. They consist of a group of conditions that cause anxiety as the main disturbance of a person’s temperament or emotional attitude. Anxiety, which may be implicit as the pathological complement of usual panic, is marked by disturbances of disposition as well as of thoughts, activities and physiological activity (Ohman, 2000). These disorders are present throughout all human ethnicities. The possibility of someone developing an anxiety disorder depends upon a combination of certain events of life, psychological attributes, and genes (Seligman, 2001). Some anxiety disorders, such as panic disorders, seem to have more ties to genetics than others. Other anxiety disorders are based on events of life. Anxiety disorders are receptive to psychiatric therapy and to a wide range of other psychotherapies. Over recent years, there has been a growing interest for concentrated therapies that deal with methods of dealing with anxiety symptoms straightforwardly, instead of finding personal susceptibility (Ohman, 2000). There are patients who have these types of disorders who can benefit both from psychoanalysis and drug therapy. This can be done together or one after the other. It is possible that these types of treatments are very important and are probably more beneficial when set aside for patients who have more complex, complicated, or severe disorders. Anxiety disorders can be extremely incapacitating, yet they react well to treatment when the disease is diagnosed early. It is certainly not a condition to be taken lightly. Because there appears to be a genetic component to Panic Disorder, pharmacotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of Panic Disorder. These would include (by Generic and Brand names): alprazolam (Xanax), buspirone (Buspar), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam (Valium), hydroxyzine HCI (Hydroxyzine HCL), hydroxyzine pamoate (Vistaril), lorazepam (Ativan), Oxazepam (Serax), paroxetine HCI (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), Effexor XR, Lexapro, or Paxil CR (Seligman, 2001). However, medication should be used in conjunction with Cognitive-Behavioral therapy. In general, Cognitive Therapy involves working with the patient to modify their everyday thoughts (that are unrealistic), while Behavior Therapy involves working with the patient to modify their everyday behavior (practicing new behaviors) - with the aim of positively influencing their emotions. The immediate goal of the therapist is to reduce patient symptoms (anxiety and somatic symptoms). This can be done by decreasing social stressors and developing positive and effective coping skills to increase the patient's functioning Cognitive interventions would be cognitive (thought) restructuring and panic education (Ohman, 2000). Behavioral interventions would include relaxation (progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery to name just a few), meditation, teaching the patient to recognize the bodily sensations they are experiencing and what to do (relaxation breathing) they when they feel these sensations coming on, and even Exposure Therapy (if the panic attacks are the result of a phobia, i.e., fear of crowds, etc.). Medication is often used for approximately 6 months in conjunction with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), then the patient is slowly weaned from the medication either completely, or medication is reduced to half dose.

References
Ohman, A. (2000). Fear and anxiety: evolutionary, cognitive, and clinical perspectives. New York: The Guilford Press. Seligman, M. (2001). Abnormal psychology. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.