Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are brought on by an irrational thought that something catastrophic is about to happen because of something you did, or are planning to do. Some examples are people who feel that if they touch water, they will immediately drown or a bridge will collapse when you drive over it. The panic attack will then immediately lead to more serious panic attacks, because you will have a hard time breathing. Your heart will beat faster and you will begin to think you are having a heart attack.
Panic Attacks and CBT Treatment
Many physicians opt to prescribe medication as an attempt to prevent panic attacks from occurring. However, the most effective treatment for preventing attacks is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT. Therapists trained in CBT will help patients recognize that their thinking is irrational, and then create methods to break the irrational pattern. CBT Therapists then help patients to use CBT tools to become their own therapists. This method has been shown to cure patients within a few months.
Panic attacks are nothing more than you losing control over your mental ability to process a situation. When you use CBT to manage the attacks, you will have the assistance of a therapist to break your thoughts down. You can then master each individual negative thought process. Until you realize that the thoughts are not realistic, you will not have control over your panic attacks. That is not something that medication can help you with.
For an updated, more in-depth look at this topic, see Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder.