A panic attack is a sudden attack of anxiety in which the individual may lose orientation, may be very breathless, may have physical as well as psychological symptoms of anxiety such as giddiness, worry, wanting to run away and unable to face the situation. The person may even have a blackout and this can happen repeatedly in one’s lifespan or I can be one of a kind. Some people are naturally prone to anxiety and at times, under stress, this can result in a panic attack. Other individuals may be perfectly happy, healthy, going about their own activities and suddenly one day can experience a panic attack. So there is no such pattern in a panic attacks. So there is no set pattern in a panic attacks. However one needs to recognize that this is a psychological disorder and one needs to take professional help. Usually psychologists treat a panic attacks in three ways. One is cognitive behavior therapy where the person is made to be aware of his unnecessary nature of his anxiety or apprehensions and is given examples of how to cope with them. Secondly exposure therapy in which the person is in a safe environment exposed to this fearful or threatening stimuli and taught how to deal with them. The third is systematic desensitization in which the person is exposed to the threatened stimuli in a gradual and graded manner at the same time is given relaxation exercises so that the panic or the anxiety ceases after a certain point, so the person is taught t tell the therapist when he experiences anxiety which is bearable and when it becomes unbearable, at that point, the stimulus is stopped and the person is administered relaxation therapy, Over time it has been proved that these three methods are effective in reducing panic attacks. If you are prone to panic attacks, first accept your condition. Know what the triggers for your anxiety and try to reduce in a systematic manner, your anxiety related to the stimulus second, bee in the present moment. Usually the panic attacks are triggered by thoughts of what will happen next, what is the worst thing that could happen? Supposing something happens which I cannot face. So what happens is that the person is distanced from the present situation. So try to be in the present. Look around, take a deep breath and try to get on with whatever activity you are currently doing. Breathing or relaxing parts of the body also help a lot. Sometimes the person is frozen in fear, in which the person is unable to simply move. At that time, simply try to have small body movements. Try to relax them consciously and you will find that once the body is relaxed, the mind also automatically relaxes and the panic attack may subside. In very severe cases, however, you may need medication under a good psychiatrist.

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