Category: cognitive behavior therapy

Managing panic attacks is always a challenge. You may be finding that your physical symptoms of heart pounding, dizzy spells, and heat waves are especially difficult to manage while you’re at work. A common concern for many individuals who experience panic attacks on the job is the fear of coworkers recognizing your anxiety or that your secret will be revealed. The worry about having an…

“I used medication to control my panic attacks for two years.  Now, I am planning a pregnancy and I want to be medication free during my pregnancy. I hope those awful panic attacks don’t come back into my life during my pregnancy.  What can I do to prevent a relapse? What If the panic attacks return with a vengeance when I go off my medication…

The Call from the Airport *Yesterday, I received a frantic call from one of my patients.  Dorothy was at the airport, waiting to board a flight to attend her sister’s wedding.  We had just started panicLINK training.  I had created a special audio program to help prepare her to take control of panic attacks on her flight to California. She said in a desperate tone,…

Home Alone Panic Attacks *Ever since the birth of her second child, Susan, a 34 year old married accountant, has been experiencing severe panic attacks “Out of the Blue.” Her first panic attack hit suddenly when she was home alone with her two children while her husband was away on a business trip.  Susan still remembers the sudden surge of weakness and lightheaded that swept…

This educational information should be used in consultation with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis and to review available treatments for panic disorder. THE MIND-BODY CHECKLIST FOR PANIC ONLY Do You Fit The Panic Profile? Do you live in fear of panic symptoms? Do you wake up in the morning wondering “Will my heart pound today?” Worry about panic symptoms can trigger symptoms Sometimes can…

*Panic Disorder: The Fear of Normal Bodily Sensations For no apparent reason, “Out of the Blue”, an intense wave of physical sensations surge through your body. Heart pounding, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, heat waves, rubbery legs, a lump in your throat and numbness and tingling in your head and face overtake you.  Naturally, you think the worst is happening!  Terrifying thoughts of heart attack, stroke,…

*Uncertainty about the Cause of Panic Attack Symptoms Initial panic attacks appear “Out of the Blue” for no apparent reason. Experiencing intense physical sensations with no explanation can be very disconcerting.  You immediately think “Why am I feeling this way? What could be causing me to feel such intense surges of physical sensations in my body?”  Uncertainty about the cause of intense physical sensations prompts…

Can Running up a flight of stairs cause a panic attack? Are You a Catastrophic Thinker? Panic attack victims are catastrophic thinkers.  They think the worst! When panic attack symptoms hit you for no apparent reason, the catastrophic thinker misinterprets normal bodily sensations of adrenaline as a sign of danger. Strong surges of lightheadedness tricks you into thinking you will go down on the spot….

The first unexpected sudden surge of heart pounding, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, weakness, rubbery legs, jelly legs, shallow breathing, chest tightness and numbness and tingling can be very terrifying.  Without even realizing it, your alarming reaction to these normal bodily sensations fuels the symptoms.  The panic attack symptoms can rapidly spiral into a full-blown panic attack. Your Body Bit You and Body Sensitization The first…

Market Place Panic attacks *When a sudden surge of heart pounding, dizziness, and shortness of breath hit you unexpectedly while shopping in the market place, your first thought is “Why am I feeling this way?  What is causing me to feel this way?” Naturally, worrisome, terrifying thoughts flood your mind like “Faint, Heart Attack, Stroke, Collapse and Make a Scene in Public.”  The sudden urge…

Trigger One: Anticipatory Anxiety *After your first panic attack strike “Out of the Blue” that took you to the Emergency Room, you live in dread of future attacks.  The dread of recurring panic attacks leads to a series of triggering anticipatory anxiety thoughts. The Six Most Common Anticipatory Anxiety Thoughts That Can Trigger a Panic Attack “What if it happens again?” “What if it happens…

*If you are like most of my patients, that first panic attack struck “Out of the Blue” for no apparent reason.  This sudden unexplained surge of physical feelings like weakness, shallow breathing, heart racing and rubbery legs can be very terrifying.  The experience of panic attack symptoms “Out of the Blue” immediately makes you think something terrible is happening…either a severe physical reaction or loss…

Panic Attacks Keep Me up All Night The sun is starting to set.  Your mind is already consumed with terrifying sleep thoughts. “I hope I get a good night sleep tonight.  What if that dreaded heart pounding and sweats strike again, just as my head hits the pillow. What if the panic attack symptoms escalate and interrupt my sleep again.  My body feels drained from…

Training Emergency Medicine and Primary Care Doctors in Early Diagnosis and Brief Education Capturing panic disorder in its earliest, formative stages yields the ripest opportunity for rapid reversal. After the first panic attack, panic disorder patients congregate in medical settings, desperately seeking a medical explanation for their physical symptoms. Panic attack sufferers present with an array of somatic complaints include dizziness, shortness of breath, numbness and…

People Pleaser Panic Attacks Are you wondering about how to accommodate the requests from family and friends to visit and schedule time together during the holiday season?  You are not alone.  Thousands of panic attack sufferers spend considerable time planning and coordinating schedules with both family and friends to make sure everyone is happy.  The fear of hurting a loved one’s feeling and prompting disapproval…