What type of therapy is best for panic attacks?

What Type of Therapy Is Best for Panic Attacks?

Therapy for panic attacks is unique. Unlike other mental health issues, which have strong cognitive causation and symptoms, panic attacks are mostly physical. Symptoms of a panic attack include:

• Intense Physical Sensations:
  • Heart palpitations or rapid heartbeat
  • Shortness of breath or feeling smothered
  • Sweating, trembling, or shaking
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Dizziness, lightheadedness, or faintness
• Overwhelming Emotional Distress:
  • Intense feelings of dread or impending doom
  • Fear of losing control or going crazy
  • Feeling detached from oneself or reality
  • Overwhelming sense of terror or panic
  • Hypervigilance or heightened sense of danger
• Cognitive Symptoms:
  • Racing or intrusive thoughts
  • Difficulty concentrating or focusing
  • Fear of dying or having a heart attack
  • Confusion or disorientation
  • Memory problems or difficulty recalling information
• Behavioral Changes:
  • Avoidance of triggering situations or environments
  • Seeking reassurance from others
  • Restlessness or pacing
  • Agitation or irritability
  • Difficulty communicating or expressing oneself

These symptoms can exist on a spectrum. You may be able to work through mild panic attacks, but a severe panic attack may be utterly debilitating. 

Causes of Panic Attacks

Although panic attacks can feel as if they come from nowhere, there is usually some hidden trigger. Common causes of panic attacks include:

• Genetics and family history of anxiety disorders
• Imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin or norepinephrine
• Stressful life events, such as loss, trauma, or significant life changes
• Chronic stress from work, relationships, or financial pressures
• Substance abuse or withdrawal from drugs and alcohol
• Caffeine or other stimulants that can trigger anxiety symptoms
• Underlying anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder or phobias
• History of trauma or childhood adversity
• Negative thinking patterns or catastrophic interpretations of events
• Low self-esteem or perfectionistic tendencies

Therapy can help you get to the root cause of these potential causes, work through any lingering issues, and learn healthy coping mechanisms to prevent panic attacks from bubbling up in the future. 

Types of Therapy for Panic Attacks

Therapy for panic attacks is unique. Many therapists will draw from a number of theories when they treat a client with panic attacks. These include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps individuals identify and challenge negative thought patterns contributing to panic attacks. This strategy teaches coping strategies, relaxation techniques, and gradual exposure to feared situations. Most therapists will use elements of CBT in their practice. 
• Exposure Therapy: Involves gradual and controlled exposure to fear-inducing stimuli to reduce anxiety over time. Exposure therapy helps individuals confront and desensitize to triggers that lead to panic attacks. Considered the most effective treatment for phobias and panic attacks triggered by specific stimuli. 
• Mindfulness-Based Therapies: Focuses on building present-moment awareness and acceptance of thoughts and sensations. This strategy can be helpful in noticing when a panic attack is approaching and taking the steps to calm one’s body. As such, it is a useful tool in preventing panic attacks. 
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Emphasizes acceptance of difficult emotions and values-driven behavior. Many people with panic attacks develop issues of self-esteem or confidence due to their panic attacks. Without treatment, panic attacks uncontrolled and can steal one’s agency. ACT helps separate the panic attack from the person, allowing one to maintain their sense of personal identity. 
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices. This practice is good for people with extreme panic attacks or for whom panic attacks have had severe negative effects on their life. DBT aims to improve emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.
• Psychodynamic Therapy: Explores unconscious patterns and early life experiences contributing to anxiety. When a panic attack is caused by previous trauma, psychodynamic therapy is instrumental in healing. It focuses on building insight, resolving inner conflicts, and fostering growth.
• Medication-Assisted Therapy: Because panic attacks are heavily based in the nervous system, medication can be helpful in reducing the amount of panic attacks experienced and the severity of those attacks. Anxiety Medication is often used in conjunction with therapy to provide comprehensive treatment for panic attacks.

What type of therapy is best for you? It depends. A good therapist will be able to choose the right modality for your needs. To help guide you, consider these questions: 

• What triggers the panic attacks? Specific panic attacks, as is the case with social anxiety or phobias, should be treated using exposure therapy, among other modalities. 
• How severe are the panic attacks? A severe panic attack disorder can be treated using DBT, which is equipped to handle debilitating illnesses. 
• What other mental health symptoms are you struggling with? Panic attacks are commonly comorbid (meaning they occur at the same time) as issues such as depression, generalized anxiety, trauma, autism, ADHD, OCD, and others. If you have a comorbid mental health issue, a diverse treatment plan can be helpful. 
• What are your goals for therapy? Consider the overarching goals for therapy. Where do you want to be when you leave  your therapist? Knowing this will help you choose a modality that fits your goals. For example, ACT can help you build self-confidence and self-efficacy. DBT or CBT may be better for building coping skills. 

If you don’t know where to start, contact Lifebulb’s support team. We can match you with a therapist who matches your needs and fits your budget.

Can Therapy Help Heal Panic Attacks?

Yes, therapy is effective at treating and eventually healing panic attacks. Although panic attacks are exhausting, terrifying, and debilitating, most people will recover from them. By treating the underlying cause, building coping skills, and increasing your threshold for panic, you can recover from panic attack disorders and live free from the terror of panic attacks. 

Ready to get started? Lifebulb’s therapists have availability this week. Contact our team for more information, or browse our anxiety therapists yourself using our therapist directory. 

Talk to us