Panic

Panic and panic attacks carry an impending and immediate sense of doom or danger, a sense of a loss of control, and that a feared event is happening now. It is often accompanied by persistent worried thoughts, and feeling ashamed about the sudden onset and unpredictability of symptoms. Panic attacks can leave a person feeling drained, exhausted, and worn down for a long time after the attack has passed.  Signs and symptoms of Panic Panic has a combination of physical and psychological symptoms that include:

Physical:

• Pounding heart
• Sweating
• Quick breathing or feeling out of breath
• Trembling
• Dizziness
• Exhaustion, fatigue

Psychological:

• Worried or racing thoughts
• Restlessness or nervous
• Difficulty sleeping or falling/staying asleep
• Fearful – fear of dying, fear of losing control
• Irritable, overwhelmed
• Sense of doom, danger, or that something bad is happening now
• Avoiding places, people, or things that make panic worse

Additionally, panic can interfere with daily activities, such as work, relationships, school, self-care, and can lead to increased difficulty with daily tasks due to the uncertainty about when or where another attack might happen.

How does Therapy help?

Therapy helps by building strategies and tools that change how a person responds to their thoughts and feelings. This is done by practicing skills that increase acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings, identifying and aligning with personal values and the behaviours that support those values in life. It includes exploring panic symptoms with increased mindfulness, self-compassion and acceptance skills to change how a person relates to the uncomfortable symptoms. Therapy will be collaborative between you and your therapist to explore areas of concern with compassion to help you build the skills for managing panic symptoms.