Anxiety Crisis

There are cases where anxiety is quite severe.  These situations are named anxiety crisis or attacks by the public. When considered from a medical perspective, the attack that is known the most among anxiety attacks is the panic attack.  While other attacks are relatively more tolerable, panic attacks create serious problems.

Panic attack is characterized by tachycardia, blood pressure going up, shivering, etc., in addition to the fear of death and fear of losing one’s mind. When that’s the case, the individual is getting anxious that they are dying, and looks for a way out to get rid of this process.  The first thing to come to mind is to go to the hospital and get help from the ER physician.  This is the correct behavior, because these types of attacks can sometimes be really of organic origins.  For instance, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia that instantly occurs may cause anxiety-based attacks, and imitate panic attack.  Similarly, a hyperthyroid patient showing sudden attacks regarding the thyroid hormone (thyrotoxicosis) is considered another scene that might be imitating anxiety attacks.

Thus, these attacks should not be considered simple, psychiatric scenes, and possible underlying organicities must be definitely reviewed.  If any clinical or laboratory finding does not signify an organicity during the examinations made, then it is understood that the case is psychiatric, and a treatment is planned accordingly.

Treatment of Anxiety Attacks

Being changed based on the type of anxiety, the treatment of anxiety crises varies (generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, acute stress disorder, etc.). The general approach is to sedate the patient through drugs called anxiolytics (benzodiazepine). The psychotherapeutic approach, however, is nothing more than making the patient feel that they are safe.  Thus, a supportive therapy is recommended.  If the underlying reason is associated with any organic disease, then the treatment protocol changes, and attempts are made to cope with the organicity in question.

Deep TMS is one of the newest and most effective methods used in the treatment of panic attack, which is an anxiety crisis.  For detailed information, you may check out our Deep TMS page…

The reactions given by the relatives for these attacks are also important.  To leave the patient to their fate by saying “it’s just psychological!” as usual is the biggest mistake there is.  However, a subarachnoid (cerebral hemorrhage) can also lead to anxiety, and the process can have a course that leads to mortality (death) in an undesired way.  Such a case can take the moral responsibility to inconceivable levels. Therefore, relatives must be supportive.