Panic attacks can be a terrifying experience. Often, when these attacks first strike, they appear so suddenly and are so unexpected that the person experiencing them often believes they are about to die. The symptoms match a number of symptoms related to heart attack such as light-headedness, nausea, numbness of the hands and feed, and chest pains. This is why those who experience Panic Attacks for the first time usually end up in the emergency room.

The following treatments have all been shown to be effective remedies for some people to cure Panic Disorders. Some people respond differently to different treatment - and what works for some may not work for others. So it is important that you take a close look at what the treatment offers, what it can provide you, and what you believe you can gain from it. The only treatment that will work for you will be the one that you feel comfortable with and that you believe in.

** Hypnosis **

Hypnosis gained popularity since 1958 when the American Medical Association recognized it as a legitimate form of treatment. In 1995, the National Institute of Health issued a statement commenting that the available scientific evidence favored the use of hypnotherapy for chronic pain. This has been a treatment method that has cured panic attacks for many people.

Hypnotherapy allows you to modify how you perceive the feelings and perceptions from your body. It helps you to focus and concentrate on your thought processes, and allows you to concentrate more on relaxing, rather than getting overwhelmed by the symptoms that are experienced during an attack.

** Humor **

While many people may never have heard of it, there is also a treatment methodology called Therapeutic Humor. This therapy is a form of visualization - where you are taught to recall a scenario that caused you to laugh uncontrollably. This is much like training that actors go through in order to recall intense feelings from their past for acting scenes. This treatment will help you to instantly recall the positive feelings of laughter when you need it most.

Since a panic attack is essentially a series of negative thoughts that compound upon each other, this approach simply short-circuits those negative thoughts by interrupting them with a powerful recall of very positive feelings and thoughts.

The medical evidence does exist that offers this therapy some credibility. Anxiety is known to increase the body's natural level of stress hormone called cortisol. Laughter has been shown to naturally reduce the levels of that stress hormone in the body.

** Energy Psychology **

Another natural treatment option is called Energy Psychology. Energy psychology is derived from the ancient Eastern technique of acupressure - involving the tapping of certain critical points on the body that is believed to be points of the body that produce an energy field, otherwise known as the "chi".

It is believed within this Eastern-based school of thought that every thought that we have generates an energy field, and that this energy field serves as a catalyst for chemical and biological changes in the body.

The goal of this therapy is to tap these specific energy points in order to discharge that negative energy, which is associated with the negative thought patterns that led to the panic attack. This form of therapy is considered a bit more alternative than others - however a fair number of people believe in this form of therapy, which also goes by the more common name of acupuncture.

** Desensitization **

Desensitization is a unique therapeutic approach that has the patient focus on those situations or events that case the most panic. The patient is asked to focus on that situation and to imagine the worst case scenario. The goal of this form of psychotherapy is to help the patient teach themselves that there is not any outcome that can turn out as badly as they fear. Once all of the "worst case" scenarios are played out - the patient can then remain confident that they can put themselves in that situation and survive it without any major catastrophe.

Desensitization helps you to learn that sometimes our fears are grossly exaggerated, and that going through the experience that we fear is not going to lead to imminent crisis.

** Cognitive Behavioral Therapy **

Finally, currently the most effective treatment that has been proven to treat panic disorder is cognitive behavioral therapy. This form of treatment is also used for a variety of other mental disorders, but it is especially effective to treat panic disorder.

The tremendous benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy are that you carefully examine your existing beliefs and then determine whether those beliefs are realistic or distorted. Many of the fatalistic thoughts that enter your mind and compound the building panic could be averted through restructuring those thought patterns using the techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy.