We Specialize in Treating:

• Mood Disorders
• Depression
• Bipolar Disorder

• Anxiety Disorders
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Phobias
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Psychological Trauma
• Abuse
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Dissociative Disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Low Self-Esteem
• Relationship Issues
• Risk Taking Behaviors
• Self Mutilation
• Unresolved Grief

Panic Disorder Treatment at Bridges to Recovery

"I remember walking up the street, the moon was shining and suddenly everything around me seemed unfamiliar, as it would be in a dream. I felt panic rising inside me, but managed to push it away and carry on. I walked a quarter of a mile or so, with the panic getting worse every minute..By now, I was sweating, yet trembling; my heart was pounding and my legs felt like jelly." (Melville, 1977)

Panic Disorder is comprised of smothering, nightmarish panic attacks characterized by discrete periods of a sudden onset of intense terror, fear, or apprehension. Panic attacks are recurrent, unexpected, and are followed by persistent concern about the next attack. Often during an attack, the person feels a loss of control of their behavior, and is practically unaware of what he/she is doing. While panic is a natural response when a real threat looms up suddenly, some people experience panic attacks that seemingly are unrelated to any external threat. Common symptoms include palpitations of the heart, tingling in the hands or feet, shortness of breath, sweating, hot and cold flashes, trembling, chest pains, choking sensations, faintness, dizziness, and feelings of unreality. During panic attacks, many people feel detached from reality and fear that they will die, lose control, or go crazy. While many people experience a panic attack when faced with something that they dread, those suffering from Panic Disorder have panic attacks repeatedly and unexpectedly for no apparent reason. This can be extremely destructive to one's life, as sufferers often persistently worry about having another attack, have concerns about what an attack means ("Am I going crazy?"), or plan their behavior around the possibility of future attacks.

Bridges to Recovery provides a safe atmosphere in a residential treatment setting to identify the symptoms associated with this psychiatric disorder. The healing process takes time and must begin with baby steps. Individual therapy sessions four times a week are where the work begins.

Panic Disorder often begins in late adolescence or in the early adult years and can be limited to a single period lasting several weeks or months. It can also recur several times, ultimately becoming chronic. It is found in a fairly sizable percentage of the population, and affects females about twice as often as males. Sometimes Panic Disorders are accompanied by Agoraphobia, in which the person fears leaving his/her house or traveling to public places for fear that she/he will experience panic attacks and not be able to seek immediate help. Needless to say, this can be extremely debilitating as the person becomes a prisoner in his/her own home, unable to hold a job or have a social life. Anxiety disorders, like Panic Disorder, arise when our normal defense mechanisms fail, and forbidden desires or feelings start to break into consciousness. In Freud's view, anxiety was a signal that the usual method of coping was failing, and that new ways of coping were needed. A minority of sufferers of Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia fear separation from parental figures. There has been data indicating a connection between these disorders in adulthood and childhood separation anxiety.