CBT for Panic Attacks

It happened again. One minute you were trying to fall asleep, and the next thing you knew, you were sitting up straight in your bed struggling to catch your breath. You started to pace around, opened a window, lay down and sat back up again, but nothing seemed to help. As your heart pounded rapidly, your anxiety grew to the point that you wondered if this was the end for you. About 20 minutes later, however, you were still alive and able to see the incident for what it really was: another panic attack.

The attack can be triggered by a specific situation, or it can strike out of the blue, and it typically lasts somewhere between 5-20 minutes. During the panic attack, your mind perceives a threat, which causes your body to go into fight-or-flight mode. Your body tries to take in extra oxygen, which can cause rapid breathing. In addition, hormones such as adrenaline are released, resulting in a rapid heartbeat.

Panic attacks are very frightening when they occur, and although they are not usually physically harmful, some people feel they might die when they are in the throes of an attack.