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If you’ve been suffering from recurring anxiety attacks, chances are that you may have put off seeking help for yourself. At the outset, many otherwise perfectly healthy people feel that there is something horribly wrong with them when they experience their first few panic attacks. But nothing could be further from the truth; panic or anxiety is experienced by everyone to some extent and help for chronic attacks are readily available.

Your first step should be to see your doctor as soon as possible. He or she is going to want to run a variety of medical tests to rule out any underlying medical condition causing the attacks. Your doctor will want to have a frank and honest discussion about your personal life, potentially stressful situations you may be experiencing and of course to rule out mental health issues such as depression as a cause.

There are numerous anti-anxiety medications available that your physician may prescribe to help you prevent the attacks that have proven to be very effective. Your caregiver may recommend you for counseling or therapy in cases where he or she has identified a specific phobia causing the attacks. Both methods, whether used together or separately are very effective.

There are also things you can do yourself, such as learning good breathing and meditation techniques to help you cope with an anxiety attack in progress. Eating healthy foods, getting plenty of rest, exercising regularly and avoiding stressful situations will help ward off incidents of panic as well. Reducing consumption of caffeine and alcohol is another preventative measure.

If you take over the counter medications, be sure to let your doctor know as some products containing decongestants and herbal remedies like Ma huang and ephedra are known to trigger anxiety attacks. Steroids, hormones, high blood pressure medicines and other prescribe medications also contribute to panic attacks. This is why it’s so important to obtain help from a medical professional rather than rely on home remedies or unqualified advice.

You may also want to consider discussing what you’re experiencing with your spouse, family or close friends. Having a good support system in place will help you to cope and may also help you to minimize your exposure to needlessly stressful situations. While experiencing anxiety attacks can be disheartening, you should feel better knowing that qualified help is available for whenever you choose to pursue it.

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