Panic!!!

Shortness of breath, tunnel vision, blanching skin, the feeling of a knife in your chest, extremely lightheaded, sounds like you are having a heart attack! Nope, you are experiencing the very frightening symptoms of a panic attack. There is an astounding number of people every year that find themselves calling 911 with the fear that they are having a heart attack when in reality it is a panic attack. I have been working with clients, since the beginning of my career as a therapist, who have suffered silently with panic disorder for years. They tend to not understand what is happening to them and the fear of facing this terrible condition scares them. However, there is no need to suffer silently from panic disorder. This disorder is a treatable condition that goes hand in hand with anxiety disorders.

The first thing that I encourage clients to do is to begin identifying the situations in which they find the panic attacks occurring. These situations in which the client discovers that they tend to have the attacks would be the triggering event. Now that the triggering event has been identified it is time to work on processing through what within that event is causing the exacerbated anxiety.

During a panic episode our bodies believe that we are being put in mortal danger. However, 99% of the time in modern day this is not the actual case. Our mind and body like to get these signals crossed due to prolonged exposure to chronic modern stressors. You can find out more about anxiety, and modernity issues with the mind, in the following articles: The Mind Body Connection — Premium Virtual Counseling Services (harvardavenuecounselingservices.com) , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety — Premium Virtual Counseling Services (harvardavenuecounselingservices.com) , Work Life Balance — Premium Virtual Counseling Services (harvardavenuecounselingservices.com).

 As soon as you are able to properly identify and begin to process through the underlying causes of these panic episodes you can begin to identify coping skills that will help you manage and cure your panic disorder. This is best done with the assistance of a therapist that has experience in working with individuals with panic disorders. Our counselors here at Harvard Avenue Counseling Services have experience in treating panic and anxiety disorders. Please feel free to reach out.