It never ceases to amaze me how people respond to illogical acts of behavior with the proverbial ‘freak’ or ‘psycho’ being the most common choice of words used to disparage the individual’s unruly state of mind. It’s strange that physical disorders are treated with a lot more care, concern and in some cases, an adequate degree of empathy than psychological disorders.
Perhaps this prejudice stems from an innate fear of being ostracized as a ‘misfit’ who is obviously not in his right mind to be able to observe the norms and rules that will hamper the peace and harmony upon which all of civilized society must thrive on to survive. One of these disorders that are growing day by day is the condition known as the ‘panic attack’.
However, much like physical disorders which have symptoms, a panic attack has ‘triggers’ that sends the individual rapidly spiraling down into a state of paranoia as it were in regarding a particular situation that they find themselves in to be a possible threat while showing signs of sweating, a racing pulse and bouts of uncontrollable nervousness and fear.
The question here is whether medication is the answer, which several experts consider unnecessary.
The solution, however, lies within the person. Instead of trying to run away from the problem, one should seek to confront the ‘triggers’ that cause the attack in the first place.
One should try to practice breathing slowly while reminding yourself that the perceived threat is just your imagination, and that everything is perfectly safe and natural. Running away will not solve anything, whether it is in the case of panic attacks or otherwise.