Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder
When a client decides to get serious about treatment for a mental illness and panic disorder, there is both relief and hope. Avalon Malibu’s panic disorder treatment center takes a one-of-a-kind approach. When people seek treatment for a panic disorder, they usually have become immobilized by their condition. They have avoided people, places and situations where panic attacks have occurred and they seek help in returning to a normal lifestyle.
The Grand House at Avalon Malibu is designated specifically for treating mental illnesses of all kinds. We are fully licensed and provide a highly qualified staff including psychotherapists that are experienced with treating mental health conditions such as panic disorders.
A panic disorder afflicts a person with a sudden and reoccurring attack of fear. The fear causes panic that can last for a few minutes, a few hours, or an entire day. These attacks are often referred to as panic attacks. A panic disorder stems from the feeling of a loss of control. Often it also includes an unwarranted fear of disaster when there is no real danger.
When a person suffers with a panic disorder, they often experience a strong physical reaction, sometimes feeling like one is having a heart attack. Panic attacks can occur at any time, and can become so debilitating that the person cannot move. People who suffer from panic attacks are often deeply discouraged or ashamed. They struggle with carrying out normal tasks and daily activities like going to the grocery store or driving.
Panic disorders affect millions of American adults every year, and are twice as common in women than in men. Panic attacks often begin in late adolescence or early adulthood, but not everyone who experiences panic attacks develops a panic disorder. Many people who have had just one attack never experience another.
Who Is At Risk for Panic Disorders?
Multiple studies have determined that stress and environmental factors play a role in panic disorders. Research has also shown that the tendency to develop panic attacks appears to be inherited. Panic disorder is known to run generationally in families and scientists have uncovered the hereditary nature of the disorder. Researchers have established that several parts of the brain are involved in fear and anxiety, and scientists are studying fear and anxiety in the brain in order to develop better treatments for panic disorder.
Panic Disorder Signs & Symptoms
- Unexpected recurring bouts of fear
- Pounding or racing heart
- Feeling out of control
- Intense worry about another attack
- Avoidance of places where panic attacks previously occurred
- Profuse sweating
- Shortness of breath
- Physical weakness
- Light-headedness and dizziness
- Chest pain
- Nausea
The Panic Disorder Treatment Center at Avalon Malibu
Clients who have been suffering with a panic disorder may have spent a great deal of time seeking a correct diagnosis. Some people’s lives become so restricted that they rarely step outside. Nearly one-third of panic disorder individuals become housebound. Many need to be accompanied by a partner or other reliable person in order to confront particular feared situations.
Avalon Malibu understands the difficulty of life with a panic disorder. Early panic disorder treatment can often prevent full blown agoraphobia (the fear of open spaces). A panic disorder is often accompanied by other serious problems, such as depression, drug abuse, or alcoholism in which case the diagnosis becomes a dual diagnosis. This means the person suffers from both mental illness and addiction.
Panic disorders are one of the most treatable of all anxiety disorders. Most people respond positively to medication and specific types of cognitive psychotherapy. At Avalon Malibu, we work to help change thinking patterns that lead to fear and anxiety.
When panic and anxiety strike, the world can become a terrifying place. At Avalon Malibu, we empathize with clients struggling to manage panic disorders, and we provide the safety, comfort and clinical expertise necessary for stabilization and healing. With a multimodal treatment protocol, renowned clinical staff, and integrated wellness approach, we offer a pathway out of panic and into fully present, positive living.
Anxiety and Panic Disorder Treatments at Avalon Malibu
Avalon Malibu specializes in the treatment of anxiety, panic and trauma resolution. Using a mindfulness-based, compassionate approach, our clinical anxiety treatment program provides resolution for the following disorders:
Panic disorder: Though panic attacks typically last less than ten minutes, the moments spent amid intense anxiety can feel like an eternity. Individuals with panic disorder find their bodies reacting to stress and anxiety in palpable, physical ways. They may experience respiratory problems, trembling, nausea and disorientation. With compassionate guidance, clients at Avalon Malibu reduce panic responses with greater levels of awareness, self-soothing and stress reduction. Hallmark symptoms of panic disorder, such as agoraphobia, can also be treated through the somatic and experiential therapies offered at Avalon Malibu, including physical activities like kayaking, yoga and other natural excursions.
Social anxiety disorder: For some individuals, social situations become a source of panic rather than an experience of rejuvenating connectedness. For those suffering from social anxiety disorder, deeply held fears of rejection, criticism or embarrassment obstruct meaningful, positive connections with others. Set in a serene, safe environment, clients at Avalon Malibu engage in non-threatening group therapy, while simultaneously working with psychotherapists on an individual level to uncover and transcend fears of social interaction.
Post-traumatic stress disorder: Our clinicians bring a wealth of experience in treating PTSD clients to alleviate symptoms such as panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares, outbursts, avoidance, insomnia and hypervigilance. By resolving core traumas, clients begin to fully integrate and move past traumatic memories into the peaceful present.
Generalized anxiety disorder: Many clients come to us with pervasive, chronic anxiety — a condition known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Often suffering from frequent and recurrent panic disorders, those with GAD may experience cycles of worry, persistent anxiety, and high levels of reactivity that lead to the magnification of everyday concerns. We work with clients to recognize physiological signs of anxiety, practice stress reduction techniques, and engage in mindful meditation to prevent and overcome GAD.
Specific phobias: Often, particularly in trauma survivors, specific phobias arise that obstruct achievement and contentedness. With clinical staff specializing in the treatment of trauma survivors, Avalon Malibu helps clients examine, face and overcome specific phobias in a gradual, focused and mindful process. Blending cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with experiential and mindfulness-based modalities, psychotherapists treat the core issues of trauma while encouraging conscious action to overcome fears.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: In an attempt to cope with long-standing and deep fears, some individuals develop an intensive internal focus on sources of anxiety, creating impulses to perform repetitive actions to alleviate fear. In some individuals, this dynamic manifests itself as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a psychological disorder marked by involuntary actions used to manage intrusive thoughts. At Avalon Malibu, clients with OCD learn positive ways to prevent, manage and resolve core fears to remove maladaptive behavioral patterns.
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