Telephone:
07584 492254
Stevenage Wellbeing Clinic
With Careful Treatment For Panic Attacks, I Will Help You To Recognise
What Triggers Your Panic And Help You To Learn To Manage It
Telephone:
07584 492254
FREE Initial Consultation
Telephone: 07584 492254
Paul is an approved member of the NHS Directory of Complementary and Alternative Practitioners, a registered member of the General Hypnotherapy Register, member of the Complimentary and Natural Healthcare Council, (CNHC), licensed Hypno-Band Practioner and an accredited counsellor with the National Counselling Society. With government support, The Department of Health has recommended that, where people are looking for complementary healthcare therapists they use someone who is CNHC registered.
NHS
Panic Attack Treatment
(Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Hypnotherapy and Counselling helping with Panic Attacks)
A panic attack is a sudden surge of overwhelming anxiety and fear. Your heart pounds and you can’t breathe. You feel dizzy and sick to your stomach. You may even feel like you’re dying or going crazy. Left untreated, panic attacks can lead to panic disorder and other problems. They may even cause you to withdraw from normal activities. But panic is treatable – and the sooner you seek help, the better. With treatment, you can reduce or eliminate the symptoms of panic and regain control of your life.
Fortunately, with effective help at the wellbeing clinic, you can be helped to reduce your feelings of panic and anxiety attacks, and take back control of your life. This page describes what panic attacks are. Further down you will find the information of how you can be helped and at the bottom of the page you will find details on how to contact the clinic and to discuss the free initial consultation which we offer so I can get a full understanding how panic attacks affect you and to be able to explain in detail how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy will help you.
Understanding Panic Attacks
You may experience one or more panic attacks, yet be otherwise perfectly happy and healthy. Or your panic attacks may occur as part of another disorder, such as panic disorder, social phobia, anxiety or depression. Regardless of the cause, panic attacks are treatable. There are many effective treatments and coping strategies you can use to deal with the symptoms.
Signs and Symptoms of Panic Attacks
Panic attacks often strike when you’re away from home, but they can happen anywhere and at any time. You may have one while you’re in a store shopping, walking down the street, driving in your car, or sitting on the couch at home. The signs and symptoms of a panic attack develop abruptly and usually reach their peak within 10 minutes. Most panic attacks end within 20 to 30 minutes, and they rarely last more than an hour.
A full blown panic attack will display some or all of the following symptoms:
Most of the symptoms of a panic attack are physical, and many times these symptoms are so severe that people think they’re having a heart attack. In fact, many people suffering from panic attacks make repeated trips to the doctor or the accident and emergencyin an attempt to get treatment for what they believe is a life-threatening medical problem. While it’s important to rule out possible medical causes of symptoms such as chest pain, heart palpitations, or difficulty breathing, it’s often panic that is overlooked as a potential cause – not the other way around.
Many people experience panic attacks without further episodes or complications. There is little reason to worry if you’ve had just one or two panic attacks. However, some people who’ve experienced panic attacks go on to develop panic disorder. Panic disorder is characterized by repeated panic attacks, combined w
You may be suffering from panic disorder if you:
Agoraphobia was traditionally thought to involve a fear of public places and open spaces. However, it is now believed that agoraphobia develops as a complication of panic attacks. With agoraphobia, you’re afraid of having a panic attack in a situation where escape would be difficult or embarrassing. You may also be afraid of having a panic attack where you wouldn’t be able to get help.
Because of these fears, you start avoiding more and more situations. For example, you might begin to avoid crowded places such as shopping centres or sports arenas. You might also avoid cars, airplanes, trains and underground trains, and other forms of travel. In more severe cases, you might only feel safe at home.
Is it a heart attack or a panic attack?
Signs and symptoms of panic disorder
While a single panic attack may only last a few minutes, the effects of the experience can leave a lasting imprint. If you have panic disorder, the recurrent panic attacks take an emotional toll. The memory of the intense fear and terror that you felt during the attacks can negatively impact your self-confidence and cause serious disruption to your everyday life. Eventually, this leads to the following panic disorder symptoms:
Panic disorder with agoraphobia
Events and situations you may avoid when experiencing agoraphobia:
Although agoraphobia can develop at any point, it usually appears within a year of your first recurrent panic attacks.
Treatment for panic attacks and panic disorder at the Wellbeing Clinic
Panic attacks and panic disorder are treatable conditions. They can usually be treated successfully with a series of therapy sessions at the Wellbeing Clinic with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Hypnotherapy and Counselling sessions.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy is generally viewed as the most effective form of treatment for panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia and is reccomended by the NHS as an effective therapy intervention. Cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on the thinking patterns and behaviors that are sustaining or triggering the panic attacks. It helps you look at your fears in a more realistic light. For example, if you had a panic attack while driving, what is the worst thing that would really happen? While you might have to pull over to the side of the road, you are not likely to crash your car or have a heart attack. Once your learn that nothing truly disastrous is going to happen, the experience of panic becomes less terrifying. For more information on cognitive behavioural therapy click this link.
In exposure therapy for panic disorder, you are exposed to the physical sensations of panic in a safe and controlled environment, giving you the opportunity to learn healthier ways of coping. You may be asked to hyperventilate, shake your head from side to side, or hold your breath. These different exercises cause sensations similar to the symptoms of panic. With each exposure, you become less afraid of these internal bodily sensations and feel a greater sense of control over your panic.
If you have agoraphobia, exposure to the situations you fear and avoid is also included in treatment. As in exposure therapy for specific
Exposure therapy for panic attacks and panic disorder
Hypnotherapy for panic attacks
Sometimes the reasons why you get panicky may not be known to you at a conscious level. The anxiety response may be as a result to negative stimuli which you are not aware of. Panic attacks may surface because of a misinterpreted protection for yourself, emotional protection. Hypnotherapy is a highly effective way to make positive, lasting changes to your lifestyle by helping you to release the emotional behind whatever you may be experiencing. Hypnotherapy at the wellbeing clinic has the very practical approach of finding solutions to problems, naemely, soloution focused hypnotherapy rather than dwelling on the past. It involves using the conscious mind to set clear goals that will enable you to change old habits into more effective strategies.
With all conditions I treat in my practice I am always looking how to release the emotional behind whatever my client may be experiencing , as in this case, panic attacks. Once you understand what the emotional attachment is, you will be well on your way to recovery. You did not intentionally set out to become like this, it generally is a circumstance of events which lead up to it. We will uncover that chain of events and help you to gain closure on them which will give you the motivation to succeed with the agreed goals. Using hypnotherapy in this way helps to shave off many weeks of traditional talking therapy because it works at the root of the problem...your subconscious mind. For more information on hypnotherapy click this link.
Treatment Overview
You may have tried many times to just 'fix' the problem all in one go and in doing so you will be aware aware how difficult it is or you may have lived with your problem for so long that you find it difficult to even imagine that life can be different for you. You may have even given up hope that you will ever be free from the symptoms of panic attacks. Effective help is available at the wellbeing clinic where I help you to achieve your goal of being free from panic attacks in small achievable steps so that as each goal is attained it gives you the strength and courage to move to the next step with a confident optimistic approach with all the support and encouragement you need to help you along.
You may already know which therapeutic treatment you wish to use and the specialised treatment available for your panic attacks includes cognitive behavioural therapy, neuro-linguistic programming, counselling and hypnotherapy. I will help you to leave behind those old anxious and panicky feelings and focus on the future and getting better, to help you feel more in control and at ease so that you can make the start of living your daily life in a more fulfilling way. All treatments are based in the hear and now and do not needlessly dwell on the past.
Please continue to view the different pages on this site using the navigation buttons below where you will see the different treatments I provide. If you would like to discuss treatment please fill in the form below and I will be very happy to contact you.
