Understanding Panic Disorder
A panic disorder is an anxiety disorder where a person has repeated and unexpected panic attacks. These panic attacks trigger feelings of intense fear that can develop into physical symptoms. Being diagnosed with a panic disorder or a panic attack isn’t uncommon. You’re not alone if you are diagnosed with panic disorder. Approximately 2-3% of the population is affected. Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that occurs more often in women than men.
Understanding Panic Attacks and How They Impact Life
Panic attacks can be disruptive and significantly impact your emotional, physical, and social well-being. The areas of your life affected include:
- Mental Health: The impact of panic attacks on your mental health can lead to the development of mental health conditions. Mental health conditions like panic disorder, depression, or generalized anxiety disorder affect how you interact with others. You may also have difficulty focusing, relaxing, or having fun.
- Withdrawal: Social anxiety can disrupt your daily activities. You may avoid people, events, or places to avoid the possibility of having another panic attack or having had a panic attack. When you isolate yourself from social situations, your relationships with family, friends, and work can become strained.
- Physical: Recurrent panic attacks affect your physical well-being. When you have a panic attack, your fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. The physical toll of this response includes muscle tension, high blood pressure, and fatigue.
- Academic and professional: Panic attacks are unpredictable, which can interfere with your career or academic life. You can miss deadlines and appointments, call in sick regularly, or find it difficult to focus on a task. These can occur if you isolate yourself because you’re afraid of having a panic attack in a place where safety or comfort is hard to find.
When you have a panic attack, you have physical symptoms that can overwhelm you. Symptoms of a panic attack include:
- Increased heart rate
- Trembling
- Chills
- Sweating
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain and feeling like you’re having a heart attack
- Tingling or numbness in the hands
- Nausea or stomach pain
- Dizziness
Symptoms Associated With Panic Disorder
The symptoms of panic disorder usually start in late teens or early adulthood. These symptoms are focused on panic attacks. Your symptoms are unique and different from others because you may not have the same symptoms or the same time between panic attacks. Those with panic disorder are also at a higher risk of suicidal ideation.
Your panic disorder symptoms can be limited to when you have a panic attack and may include:
Your panic disorder symptoms can be limited to when you have a panic attack and may include:
- Physical symptoms of panic disorder are similar to those of a panic attack. You can have one or more symptoms like sweating, hot flashes, nausea, a feeling of choking, and chest pain.
- Psychological symptoms can include a sense of being detached from yourself, a fear of dying, feeling smothered, and feeling like you have a mental illness.
Panic disorder and anxiety disorder treatment includes medication management and treatment from a mental health professional.
Our Panic Disorder Treatment in Southern California
The treatment of panic disorder includes treatment options that include psychological and pharmacological treatments. You may be receiving mental health treatment, such as psychotherapy, to help you with your panic disorder symptoms. However, there are times when your panic disorder or panic attack symptoms require acute psychiatric stabilization. Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility provides effective treatment with our individualized, compassionate symptom stabilization care. Our inpatient and outpatient care includes psychoeducational and recreation-based therapies, as well as medication stabilization and management.
Levels of Care to Help You Manage Symptoms of Panic Disorder
he severity of your symptoms determines the level of care you receive. The levels of care are interventions that ensure your safety. For example, if you’re deemed as a threat to yourself or others, you will be admitted to Ocean View’s inpatient psychiatric care unit. On the other hand, if you’re symptoms can be managed at a less intense level and you don’t need medication stabilization, you will be admitted into our outpatient treatment.
Inpatient Psychiatric Care
Ocean View’s inpatient psychiatric care addresses the intense structured support you need to stabilize your acute psychiatric symptoms. While in our inpatient unit, you will receive secure, kind 24/7 monitoring and nursing care. Our medication stabilization offers care from our medical doctor, who will help stabilize your medication and make ongoing medication adjustments. You will also have daily psychiatric visits to ensure symptom management. Also included in our inpatient psychiatric care are groups to help you learn about your panic disorder and find healthy ways to manage or detect its symptoms. This is achieved through an individualized treatment plan that includes the following:
6 Daily Therapeutic Group Sessions
6 Daily Therapeutic Group Sessions
- Psychoeducational Groups: Psychoeducational groups are a partnership between patients and our social workers focused on treatment adherence and clinical improvement. It allows patients to understand their mental health condition and discover healthy coping skills.
- Recreational Therapy: This involves activities that can increase a person’s psychological and physical health. The activities can improve well-being, support symptom management, and regain a sense of control.
- Coping Skills Development: Coping skills provide safe, healthy ways to manage panic attacks. Skills like meditation or art therapy help build resilience.
Additional Features of Our Inpatient Psychiatric Care
- Private and Shared Room Options
- Typical length of stay: 7–10 days (may vary)
- Transportation coordination available
Patients Are Grouped by How Severe Their Condition Is, Not by Their Age or Specific Diagnosis
At Ocean View, we personalize your care to reflect the care you need based on the severity of your symptoms. We do this because your unique needs can’t be limited to your age or diagnosis. That’s why our facility has different levels of care. Each level addresses the structured support necessary for your symptom management. The psychoeducational and recreation-based groups focus on stabilization and clinical improvement.
Outpatient Levels of Care
Outpatient care is personalized based on your level of care needs. You may not need the intense structure of inpatient care, but still need the structured support of a partial hospitalization program (PHP). On the other hand, your symptoms may be managed with an intensive outpatient program (IOP).
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
PHP is an outpatient intensive, structured support care. It requires attending Ocean View five days a week for four group sessions. These include the same groups in our inpatient psychiatric unit. Ocean View provides lunch and snacks, so you don’t have to worry about hunger. We also offer transportation services, medication compliance services, and life planning.
Our social workers will help you create a treatment plan that includes transition plans and resource referrals.
Our social workers will help you create a treatment plan that includes transition plans and resource referrals.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
An IOP is a structured program that doesn’t require you to be at our health facility five days a week. You will participate in psychoeducational and recreation groups two to four times weekly from 10 am until 2:30 pm. We will also work on developing positive coping skills and a community reintegration plan. Returning to your environment can mean finding support groups and health care that boosts your emotional and physical health.
While participating in a PHP or IOP, you can live at home. An IOP allows you to attend school or work during the day.
While participating in a PHP or IOP, you can live at home. An IOP allows you to attend school or work during the day.
On-Site Medical Director to Help Monitor Medication Needs
Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility’s Medical Director is on-site to oversee your medication management needs. The two types of medication used to treat panic disorder are antidepressants and benzodiazepines. The treatment options for medications depend on whether you have a co-occurring disorder. Antidepressants are often used for those with panic disorder. Still, for patients with severe symptoms or a co-occurring disorder, a benzodiazepine may be prescribed until the antidepressant takes effect. Another reason our medical director is on-site is that if you’re at risk of self-harm or suicide, you will need 24/7 inpatient monitoring.
Once your medication is stabilized, you will receive medication management. If you’re in our outpatient care, you will receive medication management.
Once your medication is stabilized, you will receive medication management. If you’re in our outpatient care, you will receive medication management.
Aftercare & Opt-In Patient Follow-Up
Aftercare supports your symptom management by providing the resources needed to continue managing your symptoms. You will work with a case manager to determine what you need to maintain the clinical improvement you achieved at Ocean View. Your case manager will partner with you to coordinate:
- Outpatient transitions
- Housing or facility placements
- Community support referrals
You can participate in our opt-in patient follow-up (Patient Resource Network) as a part of your aftercare. The services of the opt-in network include:
- Routine Check Ins
- Medication Continuity
Why Choose Ocean View Psychiatric Health Facility?
Choosing a psychiatric stabilization health facility to address acute panic disorder symptoms can be overwhelming. At Ocean View, we focus on treating you with kindness and empathy. Our medical and psychological care team supports you throughout the crisis care stabilization process. You will:
- Learn about your symptoms related to panic disorder
- Develop essential life skills
- Interact with others who share similar symptoms and disorders
Getting in Touch With Our Admissions Team
When you or a loved one decides to reach out to Ocean View for help stabilizing your panic disorder or panic attack symptoms, you can contact us by email or by calling us. We offer these options because we understand some may not be comfortable calling or need to get in touch immediately. You can choose the best choice for you.
Insurance and Referral Options
We accept many major insurance providers, including Tricare. Our admissions team is available 24/7 to guide you through the admissions process, verify your benefits, and help you be admitted. As we are in-network with most major insurance carriers, you can expect a seamless admission process.
Moving Forward With Southern California Panic Disorder Treatment
Ocean View gives you the skills you need to manage your panic disorder and panic attack symptoms. Our location in Orange County is close to Los Angeles, allowing you to receive safe, empathetic care without stigma.