Anxiety? Depression? Overcoming panic attacks is completely possible without medication, but it's important to first realize that these three problems are often interlinked, and it is impossible to solve one problem in isolation As far as anxiety and depression go, they tend to produce opposite effects on the body, though many people, especially women, can experience both problems at the same time.
Anxiety tends to increase your heart rate, and make your body hyper-alert and tense.
Depression, on the other hand, often manifests signs of listlessness, moodiness, and constant fatigue.
Most psychologists currently believe that the majority of people who suffer from panic attacks developed either anxiety or depression first, which led to the other affliction, which ultimately results in panic attacks.
The ideal course of treatment will treat the ultimate cause of the panic episodes, which should in turn eliminate the other two symptoms.
Anxiety has perhaps the more obvious link to bouts of panic, because the physical signs of both are so similar.
Some people thrive on pressure, but for many others, if they are exposed to too much anxiety for too long, they eventually can't "control" it anymore.
Their sense of being overwhelmed with everything may lead directly to panic attacks, or it might devolve into a cloud of depression, as they contemplate the perceived un-ending and un-fixable stressors in their life.
On the other hand, depression is just as commonly linked to panic attacks, through unhappiness at some current situation in the sufferer's life, or a brain chemical imbalance.
If the depression continues on for long enough, many people will start to fear that they will always feel this way, or they will get frustrated and angry that they are feeling so terrible even when they know that life is relatively good.
This building-up of unhappiness can result in symptoms of severe anxiety, or it can lead to unexpected and frightening panic attacks.
For either path that leads people to panic episodes, some things are always the same.
At first, almost all victims are convinced that something is seriously wrong with their bodies, and only consultations with therapists, doctor's visits, and/or some internal relaxing will be able to convince them otherwise.
The vast majority of sufferers, however, are eventually able to cure panic attacks on their own.
Every person's situation is unique, but generally the root cause of anxiety can be pinpointed more easily than depression's origins, and can be treated with lifestyle changes, relaxation techniques, or just awareness of your propensity to anxiety.
Depression-linked panic episodes are generally more resistant to treatment and may eventually require mood-altering medication for at least half a year to lift the sufferer out of their misery and teach them how to feel in control of their lives again.
However, especially when the depression results from specific situations or events, regular visits to a counselor can help significantly.