Therapy for Panic and Panic Attacks

Panic is your body’s alarm system on overdrive. A normal sensation, like a skipped heartbeat, warmth, or dizziness, gets misread as danger. Adrenaline surges, symptoms spike, and your brain learns: “That feeling means panic.” Soon you fear the sensations themselves, and everyday life narrows. It may even appear to come out of nowhere, no warning sign at all. You may even think of these as anxiety attacks.

Therapy helps you break this cycle: learn how panic works, face sensations safely, and teach your brain that discomfort is not danger.

We help adults who experience panic attacks, panic disorder, health anxiety, and agoraphobia. Many of our clients also navigate anxiety, OCD, trauma, ADHD, chronic pain, or burnout. Together we’ll reduce avoidance, retrain your nervous system, and grow skills that last.

Who We Help

• Folks with recurrent panic attacks or panic disorder

• People who start avoiding stores, driving, bridges, elevators, or crowds (agoraphobia)

• Those who fear physical sensations (racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness)

• Individuals with co-occurring anxiety, OCD, trauma, ADHD, or chronic pain

Common Impacts We See

• “What if I pass out / faint / die / lose control?” loops

• ER or urgent-care visits that come back “normal,” but fear remains

• Avoiding caffeine, gyms, heat, or busy places

• White-knuckling car rides or only driving with a “safe person”

• Constant body-checking and Googling symptoms (even though Dr. Google never seems to help ease your mind)

• Calling out of work, leaving events early, or shrinking your world

Themes That Often Show Up (not limited to)

• Feeling a sense of not being in control or loss of control (especially with your mind or body)

• Misinterpretations of normal sensations

• Safety behaviors (water bottle, phone calls, exits, sitting near doors)

• All-or-nothing thinking (“If I panic, the day is ruined”)

• Hypervigilance + exhaustion; sleep disruption from worry

• Shame about “not being able to handle it”

• Health anxiety and reassurance-seeking cycles

Common and Less Common Examples

Common:

• A first big panic during a stressful season, then fear of it happening again

• Avoiding highways, tunnels, or “far from home” routes

• Panic in checkout lines, meetings, flights, or church

Less common (but valid):

• Panic triggered by internal sensations (standing up, exercise, warm showers)

• “After-panic” blues and irritability for hours or days

• Feeling detached/unreal (depersonalization/derealization) and fearing you’re “going crazy”

If your experience feels unusual, it’s still real and workable.

How Therapy Helps with Panic

You don’t have to tiptoe through life to avoid panic. Therapy gives you science-based tools and a step-by-step plan. We will create a plan and be with you step-by-step. We never throw you in the “deep end”.

• CBT for Panic: Learn how panic works and unlearn catastrophic interpretations.

• Interoceptive Exposure: Safely practice feared sensations (e.g., spinning for dizziness, straw breathing for breathlessness) to teach your brain “this is uncomfortable, not dangerous.”

• Situational Exposure (ERP): Gradually re-enter avoided places (stores, highways, elevators) with solid coping skills.

• ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy): Make room for sensations and worry while moving toward what matters.

• Breath & CO₂ Tolerance Training: Replace over-breathing with steady, functional breathing.

• Nervous-System Regulation: Brief resets you can use anywhere (grounding, orientation, paced activity).

• Sleep & Lifestyle Supports: Gentle tweaks to caffeine, alcohol, hydration, and routines that reduce vulnerability to panic.

• Relapse-Prevention Plan: Skills for setbacks so progress keeps going.

Our aim isn’t to make you never feel symptoms; it’s to help your brain stop treating them like a five-alarm fire.

(If you have new chest pain, severe shortness of breath, or medical red flags, seek medical care. We can coordinate with your PCP once urgent concerns are ruled out.)

If You’re Not Ready for Exposure Yet

That’s okay. We can still:

• Map your panic cycle and safety behaviors

• Build a simple “panic plan” for at-home or in-public episodes

• Practice micro-skills (breath pacing, grounding)

• Start with ultra-gentle exposures you choose

Why Better Minds Counseling & Services?

• Evidence-Based & Kind: CBT for panic, interoceptive + situational exposure, ACT, and practical nervous-system skills.

• Collaborative & At Your Pace: You set goals; we design exposures with consent and clarity.

• Whole-Person Care: We consider identity, culture, health, and access needs.

• Co-Occurring Expertise: Anxiety, OCD, trauma, ADHD, chronic pain/illness.

• Virtual & Flexible: Online therapy for adults across DE, MD, NJ, PA, and VA.

• Private-Pay: We provide superbills for potential out-of-network reimbursement.

Ready to Get Started?

You can feel fear and still move forward. Let’s help you trust your body, shrink avoidance, and take your life back…step by doable step. If you are ready to not let panic rule your life any longer, contact us today and we will set you up with a Better Minds therapist for an intro therapy meeting today!