Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
Short, Authoritative, Useful eBooks
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A panic attack may feel like you are dying. And, after the first attack, you are likely to have more attacks. They will vary in intensity and severity. Your response to them will depend on the nature of your fears.
Because the medication prescribed at hospitals is so effective, the vast majority of patients naturally prefer to rely on it instead of using psychological strategies.
The author’s advice, however, is to do the opposite: wean yourself off from the medication and opt for the psychological strategies he describes in this book.
Over time, he has developed a repertoire of strategies that have enabled him to treat every
panic-attack sufferer successfully—with one caveat: the patient must be willing and able to follow through with the treatment.
Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, shaking, sweating, and numbness, and feelings such as of impending doom or losing control. Symptoms occur within minutes, grow in intensity, and typically last for about 30 minutes though the duration can vary from seconds to hours.
What I described above is the typical behavior pattern of people who get panic attacks, who know no better. The percentage of sufferers who opt for lifetime medical treatment is shockingly high: 61.1% Panic attacks are a symptom. A panic disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that requires several symptoms to be present one of which is panic attacks (with specific criteria for frequency, severity, etc). Other psychiatric diagnoses must be absent.
In the case of ‘panic disorder with agoraphobia’ (an anxiety disorder where you fear situations and places that may make you feel trapped or helpless, thereby causing you to panic), the percentage who are on lifetime medical treatment is a shocking 96.1%! A small number of sufferers stumble on non-medical treatments, discovered by trial and error or offered by previous panic – disorder sufferers, but this is not always or completely effective.
Dr Douglas Kong is a Life and Wellness Coach. He trained as an Executive and Wellness Coach as well as in Group Coaching. He is ACTA-certified and a certified Master Certified Coach Trainer (MCCT).
Dr Kong was a practicing psychiatrist until his recent retirement. He has a strong background in the Neurosciences, Psychoanalysis, and Group Dynamics.
As a psychiatrist, Dr Kong has a track record of getting almost two-thirds of his patients to recover completely from their ailment. His secret: resolving problems by instituting psychological treatment.
His psychological treatment techniques include psychoanalytic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral techniques, hypnosis, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and goal-oriented and motivational therapy.
As an expert in stress management, he has published many research papers on stress and stress-related illnesses and taught and conducted workshops on stress both locally and internationally.
He has been a widely-sought speaker at psychoeducational talks and conferences for the public. He is especially interested in stress and social networks, building resilience to stress, post-trauma growth, and holistic wellness. He is very familiar and effective with helping his patients and clients face issues with grief, losses, post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety. This includes relationship conflicts and communication breakdowns.
Dr Kong has considerable experience and expertise in face-to-face clinical consultations; stress and relationship psychotherapy; psychotherapy for personality difficulties and adaptational needs; and coaching for adapting to transitions in work, family, and life.
Throughout his life, Dr Kong has been active in NGOs as a volunteer working with family and social issues. He has mentored individuals in the psychological disciplines and is currently mentoring others in business excellence and business growth.