Читать книгу Anxiety For Dummies - W. Doyle Gentry, Laura L. Smith - Страница 37

Panic attack symptoms, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and intense fear, often mimic heart attacks. Alarmed, those who experience these terrifying episodes take off in the direction of the nearest emergency room. Then, after numerous tests come back negative, overworked doctors tell the victim of a panic attack in so many words that “It’s all in your head.” Many patients with panic attacks doubt the judgment of the physician and strongly suspect that something important was missed or wasn’t found.

The next time an attack occurs, panic attack victims are likely to return to the ER for another opinion. Even a second or third visit may not convince those with panic attacks that the feeling wasn’t caused by a heart problem. The repeat visits frustrate people with panic attacks as well as ER staff. However, a simple 20- or 30-minute psychological intervention in the emergency room decreases the repeat visits dramatically. The intervention is pretty simple — just providing education about what the disorder is all about and describing a few deep relaxation techniques to try when panic hits.