Helpful
Interventions in Treating Panic Disorder
© copyright 1998 by Lynette
J. Hoy, NCC, LCPC
I
recommend the following interventions in treating panic disorder
(read about the causes & symptoms
of panic disorder):
1. Diagnosis is
very important. One study found that people sometimes see
10 or more doctors before being properly diagnosed, and that only
one out of four people with the disorder receive the treatment
they
need. That's why it's important to know what the symptoms are,
and to make sure you get the right help. You should see a competent
professional counselor, your physician to see if there is an physical
cause, and/or a psychiatrist for an accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Medication may be necessary when there are underlying physiological
problems. Please
contact AACC for a referral to
a counseling professional
in your area.
2.
Spiritual intervention.
2 Tim 1:7 reads, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."(NIV)
People with panic attacks are filled with fear.
Instead you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God to overcome
fear. You can experience this by discovering and growing in a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.
Many people have not made the decision to trust Christ
personally or if they are Christians, they have fallen away from
Him. When this is the case, the first priority is to understand
and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and put Him at
the center of your life. He is the author of peace and the
overcomer of fear in our lives. Pascal once wrote: "There is a God-shaped
vacuum in the heart of every man". Spiritual emptiness causes
depression and anxiety in our lives. We need God and we can experience
Him when we know and trust in Jesus Christ. Read the faq on Faith
to help you understand how to have a personal relationship with
Christ.
Read
FAQs about how to handle anxiety
and stress and how faith
can help you cope.
The following books may help reduce your fears and
generate more coping skills:
Niv
Thin Line Bible/Indexed Bonded Leather/Burgundy
Hope
for the Troubled Heart by Billy Graham
$4.79
Truth
Talk: Telling Yourself and Each Other the Truth by
William Backus, Marie Chapian $9.99
The
Good News About Worry by William Backus
$7.99
Lynette
Hoy, NCC, LCPC
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