Robert A. Regal, Ph.D.
Panic - Brief, Highly Effective Treatment
Anyone who has experienced a panic attack knows how overwhelming it can feel.
“Palpitations, sweating, trembling, shaking, feelings of shortness of breath or smothering, chest pain, nausea, dizziness or lightheadedness, feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself, fear of losing control or going crazy, fear of dying , feelings of numbness or tingling, chills or hot flashes. "(DSM-IV).
A panic attack creates a devastating sense that something terrible is happening and is rapidly moving beyond your control. It often results in visits to primary care physicians and/or hospital emergency rooms. Medical reassurance along with anxiety-reducing medication(s) often quiets the immediate crisis, but does little to address future panic spirals. Understandably, panic sufferers search to find anything that can be linked to it as a potential trigger. These are avoided and safe places (places where panic is either less likely to occur, or less devastating if it occurs) are sought. As panic re-appears, anticipatory anxiety becomes more pervasive. Social withdrawal and depressive symptoms commonly follow. Agorophobia—the crushing fear of traveling beyond a very limited boundary—is often the progressive result of panic disorder which has not been successfully addressed.
There is very good news
Panic anxiety can now be successfully treated in just a few sessions. Recent advances in understanding the psychological dynamics that maintain and support panic reactions have resulted in treatments that are both effective in the short-and long-term. Based largely on the research of David Barlow and Steven Hayes, panic sufferers can now learn new and very different ways of approaching this disabling problem. Unlike drug therapies and earlier models of psychological and behavior therapies, patients are now taught how efforts to control their fears have only made their problem worse. Learning emotional acceptance and finding the courage not to be the servant of irrational fear is the core of what treatment is about. Panic sufferers are typically greatly improved after only one session. Treatment typically lasts for three sessions.
To Contact Dr. Regal : Call 914 - 347-4797 or e-mail: Contact@RegalPHD.com
