Interview With Rafael Santandreu: “Panic Attacks Can Be Cured “
Panic attacks affect a good part of the population and are usually one of the main reasons when requesting psychological therapy. When fear takes absolute possession of the mind, these episodes are common in which the person is almost absolutely certain that he is about to die.
Rafael Santandreu talks about this reality in his latest book Nothing is so terrible: the philosophy of the strongest and happiest. In it, he reminds us that panic in its purest form is the worst fear we can experience, the most disabling. However, we must be clear: anxiety is cured. Approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy are often an exceptional tool in these cases.
We cannot forget that anxiety is, in many cases, an exacerbated expression of fear. Stop feeding it with silence and expose ourselves to it with high doses of courage and resolution, can get us out of that corner where fears, anguishes and phobias grip us, reducing our quality of life.
Interview with Rafael Santandreu about panic attacks
Panic attacks can be completely cured
Santandreu often sees how many people show clear improvements from the first week when they go to therapy.
. Fears are dismantled rationalizing
Q. Today we will talk about panic or anxiety attacks. It is something that affects a lot of people, right?
Q. What do they consist of?
The person experiences symptoms such as a racing heart, arrhythmias, chest pain, and a feeling of impending death. But above all, a lot of fear. They usually go to the emergency room and there the doctor tells them that they have nothing. That is all mental. But these attacks can hit them at any time and without a specific cause.
P. But there are different modalities, right?
Q. You have said that people can even live cloistered at home because of that fear. How is that?
Yes. The person tends to be afraid of being away from home because they think that if they attack in any place where they cannot protect them, the situation could be terrible. At home it feels safer. They also need someone to be with them to help them. And is that anxiety attacks can go more and more and more …
Q. Why do they happen?
Q. And what is the solution?
Q. Is it the famous exposure therapy?
That’s it. I talk about her in my book Nothing is So Terrible , but I also recommend reading Self Help for Your Nerves by Claire Weekes, an Australian doctor who has dealt with this topic for decades.
P. In the face of panic attacks, doctors usually prescribe anxiolytics, tranquilizers …
Q. With cognitive-behavioral therapy and without medication, people are cured?
Q. Exposure therapy seems tough since you have to face fear, right?
It is easier as long as you are very consistent and work hard every day. Determination is very important because it makes the task much easier.
If you hesitate or do not work every day, the therapy can be lengthened. But those who are at full capacity from the beginning, have spectacular advances from the first week. It is not uncommon for them to improve by 80% all at once in a week.
Q. Are antidepressants good for anxiety attacks?
Q. Is it necessary to go to the psychologist to heal from anxiety attacks?
