Panic attack disorder therapy is a specialized therapeutic approach designed to help individuals suffering from recurrent and debilitating panic attacks. During therapy sessions, individuals work closely with trained Thriveworks Blacksburg therapists to identify and understand the triggers and thought patterns that contribute to their panic attacks. Through panic attack disorder therapy, individuals learn to manage their anxiety, develop coping strategies, and regain control over their lives, ultimately leading to a reduction in the severity of panic attacks.
Panic attack disorder therapy often utilizes cognitive-behavioral techniques like exposure therapy and relaxation exercises to help individuals manage and mitigate panic attacks. These methods involve desensitizing triggers, reducing physical and emotional symptoms, and challenging irrational thought patterns to empower individuals to recognize, control, and reduce the frequency and intensity of panic attacks.
Therapy for Panic Disorders in Blacksburg, VA—Coaching and Counseling
When people experience multiple panic attacks or have disrupted their life to avoid an attack, they may have a panic disorder, and effective psychological treatments are available for a panic disorder. With a skilled counselor, many people have learned coping skilled for panic and worked through past traumas.
The therapist at Thriveworks Blacksburg have worked with many clients are battling a panic disorder. We know how to integrate different techniques to form a treatment plan that is individualized to each client’s particular symptoms and needs.
Signs of a Panic Disorder
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) further qualifies the diagnostics of a panic disorder (DSM-5 300.01 [F41.0]):
- When a person experiences more than one panic attack that strikes without warning and without apparent cause. The attacks cause severe emotional and physical discomfort that intensifies for several minutes and then abates. Specifically, the attack must have a minimum of four of the following:
- Abdominal pain or nausea
- Sweating profusely
- Fear of losing control or being seen as crazy
- Palpitations or escalated heart beat
- Chills or hot flashes
- Feeling detached from oneself
- Trembling or shaking
- Numbness or tingling sensations
- Fear of dying
- Difficulty breathing or feeling choked
- Feeling smothered/tightened chest
- Dizziness or faintness
- Chest pain or tightness
- In response to these panic attacks, experiencing—for a period of at least one month—either or both of the following:
- Changing one’s daily schedule to offset the possibility of having a panic attack.
- Severe anxiety that another panic attack will happen and/or one will have similar, negative health consequences (e.g., a heart attack).
Coping with Panic Attacks
Often, counselors integrate several types of treatment to find personalized care:
- Exposure therapy: This therapy focuses upon normalizing the sensations of panic and building coping skills to manage the panic. In a safe space and with a professional’s supervision, people can be exposed to things that they fear and practice controlling their response.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: This therapy examines any foundational causes of the panic. People may have unresolved trauma, or they may have developed negative coping habits. These past experiences or thought processes may be triggering the panic attacks, but they can be addressed and resolved.
- Medication: When combined with exposure therapy or cognitive behavior therapy, medications can reduce symptoms and allow these therapies to be more effective.
Setting Up Therapy for Panic Disorders at Thriveworks Blacksburg, VA
Did the signs of panic disorders resonate with you? Have you experienced a panic attack? Thriveworks Blacksburg offers therapy for panic disorders because we do not want anyone to live with or live in fear of panic attacks. We are committed to tailoring treatment plans to fit each client’s needs.
We are also committed to making the process of scheduling therapy as easy as possible. When you are ready to find treatment for your panic attacks, know that Thriveworks offers evening and weekend sessions.
Are you ready to treat your panic attacks? Schedule online with Thriveworks Blacksburg, or call today at:(540) 376-3348.
