Q & A: CBT for Panic

The launch pad for today’s Q & A is my recently released video:
   • CBT for Panic  

Panic attacks are common, and everyone is vulnerable to having one, because we all have a panic center in our brain. Actually, it is an emergency alert system, and panic is just what happens when the alarm is pulled, but there is no actual danger.

Despite, and sometimes because of, the severe physical symptoms unleashed, the medical system often fails to identify panic attacks, or misattributes genuine panic as serious medical problems.

Genetics and life experiences determine our susceptibility to panic. But situational factors, such as sleep deprivation, physical illness, psychiatric conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD, new environments, and exposure to medications and other chemicals can all contribute to triggering panic attacks.

Nobody should be ashamed of having a panic attack, because they had no choice regarding how their body responded to perceived danger. But cognitive behavioral approaches can help retrain the brain, to more quickly escape from panic, and over time, make them much less frequent.