Conquering Your Panic, Anxiety, and Phobias - Anxiety, Panic and Phobias Treatment

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

David: Here's a question about "social phobia", or what many call "shyness":

z3bmw: Hi, have you ever treated a person who talked freely at home but wouldn't talk in public?

Dr. Granoff: Yes. I would have to know the cause of the attacks. Counselors, social workers, psychologists, and your family doctor will tell you to exercise, provide relaxation training and supportive therapy. While that might help some--a qualified psychiatrist will help most

David: Here's another agoraphobia question:

Aussiegirl: I started having Panic Attacks three months ago. Everything was fine before that. The last time I had a panic attack, I ended up screaming and lost control. Since then, I have developed agoraphobia. How can I help myself if I can't leave the house? I couldn't even get to a therapist.

Dr. Granoff: First, get my book and video to understand your condition and how it should be treated. Then, find a qualified psychiatrist to treat it, perhaps by phone at first.

David: Dr. Granoff, I want to thank you for being our guest tonight. You've been helpful and given us more insight into the causes and treatments of anxiety, panic and phobias.

Dr. Granoff: It's been my pleasure.

David: I also want to thank everyone in the audience for coming. I hope everyone in the audience will feel free to visit anytime. I think it's important to support each other and pass along information on what does and doesn't work.

Again, here's the link to Dr. Granoff's book, and this one takes you to his site, where you can also get his book and video. If you haven't already, click on this link and register for the mail list so you can keep up with what's happening in the anxiety community.

Good night everyone and thank you for participating tonight.

POSTSCRIPT TO CONFERENCE:

Following the conference, Dr. Granoff answered this question regarding medications vs. cognitive behaviorial therapy to treat anxiety disorders:

Caroline: The anxiety and panic conference on HealthyPlace.com a few days ago seemed to indicate that you feel that medication is the only way to go and that anxiety disorders are life long conditions only to be managed not cured.

Vast numbers of people have overcome their anxiety problems without the use of drugs. CBT is recognised as the best treatment for anxiety disorders. I personally found the conference made people feel worse. Although you may have been well intentioned, many people I have spoken to felt the same.

The following is an excerpt from Christopher McCullough's book "Nobody's victim".

Biomedical approaches to treatment similarly employ the disease metaphor. They tend to cast blame on "biochemical imbalance", an approach that rests on extremely shaky assumptions. Psychobiological research attempts to establish causal relationships between biochemistry and emotion.

Because certain medications taken by certain patients make them feel better, researches conclude that the drug corrects the chemical imbalance that was causing the misery. This is like claiming that since you feel more relaxed after drinking gin, it's evidence that you were gin-dificient.

Such research sounds serious and important. A presentation at a recent conference of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America was entitled "Increased Regional Blood Flow and Benzodiazepine Receptor Density in Right Prefrontal Cortex in Patients with Panic Disorder." Interestingly, however, many patients recover from panic and anxiety using nonmedical treatments such as behaviour modification, breathing, or divorce without doing anything to their "receptor densities".

Dr. Granoff: "Vast numbers of people" may get temporary relief from anxiety using only CBT. About 60% of people studied get temporary relief from placebo. In my experience, having treated thousands of people, often the relief from only CBT is partial and temporary. Sometimes it has a longer lasting effect.

Medical research shows that panic disorder is usually lifelong. Some people can have one or an episode of panic attacks never having any others. Some people have their first episode with minimal or no relief for decades. For most people, it is a recurring illness which waxes and wanes throughout life. The longer the study, the larger the number of people who experience a relapse.

CBT only is promoted mostly by psychologists, social workers or counselors. These mental health professionals cannot prescribe medications, whereas psychiatrists can prescribe medications and do CBT. You have to be able to read the medical literature with a critical eye and recognize the biases of the researchers.

A combination of CBT and medications is the most effective treatment. I tend to stress medications as my bias because too many people are misinformed about their safety and effectiveness. They become fearful that the medical/pharmaceutical industry is taking them on a royal ride for economics. I certainly use CBT in my treatment along with medications.

My book and video explain why panic attacks occur (stress), causing the genetic predisposition to kick in, causing the brain chemistry to flip out of balance and how the medications and stress reduction of any kind (including CBT) rebalance the chemistry. Although no gene has yet to be identified to cause panic attacks, the genetic link is clear.

In medicine, especially in psychiatry, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Human behavior is exceptionally complex and varied. Hanging upside down by your toes might work to cure panic attacks in one person. If that works for that one person, I can't argue with it. I would suggest they continue hanging. Likewise, CBT might work for some people. If it does go with it.

Realize if you still experience the pain of panic while using CBT, like Kim Bassinger did while getting her academy award in the HBO panic show, there are medications that can offer relief.

Disclaimer: We are not recommending or endorsing any of the suggestions of our guest. In fact, we strongly encourage you to talk over any therapies, remedies or suggestions with your doctor BEFORE you implement them or make any changes in your treatment.

If you haven't been on the main HealthyPlace.com site yet, I invite you to take a look. There are over 9000 pages of content.

Good night everyone.

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