That's a horrible story, and it's happening all around the world. These damned doctors are medicating kids like crazy, and prescribing unbelievably powerful medications when far subtler tools will do. I use herbal medicine whenever possible; I have a book called Nature's Medicine Chest, which is a compilation of Native American herbal preparations, and a wholesale supplier for fresh and pure natural herbs - they're super cheap too. The results I've had with it are incredible. A friend of mine had painful menstrual cycles, and I gave her an herbal tea preparation from that book, and she was so thrilled with the results that she asked for the recipe and she makes her own now. She said she hadn't had such an easy time with it since she was a teenager. Another friend tore some ligaments in his knee climbing over a fence - couldn't even walk on it, and after I made a poultice preparation from that book, he couldn't even feel it anymore; he walked out of the door smiling. It was like a miracle.When I was in grade school, The doctors had me on Prozac and Xanax, I actually at age 19 was dependent on Xanax, I decided to take my lumps and experience my panic attacks rather than have to take that medicine. It took me six months but after that point, I'm very reluctant to take anything now, Maybe antibiotics if I need them, But the body tries to heal itself, I don't need most medications they prescribe.
So I understand the reluctance to use modern pharmaceuticals. But you do not want to just "muscle through" panic attacks. Get a blood pressure gauge and check your blood pressure the next time you have one. I'm betting that when you're having a panic attack, your blood pressure gets up to around 160-180. That's terrible for your arteries. When your pressure gets that high your blood vessels crack, and that basically makes them scar. Then those scars continue to build up - that's arteriosclerosis. The last step is a blocked artery (a heart attack) or a chunk breaks off and you either get a stroke or a thrombosis.
A half a tab of Atenolol stops that whole process in its tracks, in my experience. I take a half tab of Atenolol when I feel a panic attack coming on (maybe 1-4 times per year), and it short circuits the whole process. Half an hour later I feel great; no anxiety at all. I can't be sure that it works the same way with everyone, but I bet it does. I think that something physiological, like caffeine, makes the blood pressure start to spike. Then the mind starts to freak out, "how bad is this going to get?" and the next thing you know, your blood pressure is over 160 and you're feeling blind panic, wondering if you're going to have a heart attack.
I think you should nip that shit in the bud. The peace of mind alone...knowing that you have a tool to stop the cycle before it starts...brings me enormous peace of mind. I haven't had a panic attack in many years now. And I know that if one starts, I'll put an end to it, pronto. And save my arteries in the process.
Now I just wish that I'd figured it out sooner. and saved myself a lot of grief, and a lot of arterial damage. The next time I see my doctor (I found a really good one a few years ago) I'm going to ask him to write an article about it - I'm convinced that this trick will save a lot of lives - it's an excellent preventative measure against heart attacks and strokes, and save a lot of people from lifetime dependence on insane and addictive medications like Xanax.