Panic Attacks: When Fear Hits Without Warning
Panic attacks can feel terrifying. Your heart may race, your chest can feel tight, your breathing feels off, and your body reacts as if something is seriously wrong — even when there’s no clear danger.
I provide online therapy for panic attacks and panic disorder for adults across Wisconsin, Illinois, and Nebraska. Therapy focuses on helping you understand what’s happening in your body, reduce fear of panic itself, and rebuild confidence in your ability to cope.
Panic attacks are intense. They are not dangerous. And they are treatable. For some people, panic attacks overlap with ongoing anxiety or intrusive thoughts.
What Panic Attacks Can Feel Like
Panic attacks often come on suddenly and may include physical sensations, intense fear, or a sense of losing control. Common experiences include:
A pounding or racing heart
Shortness of breath or feeling air-hungry
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Chest tightness or fear of a medical emergency
A sense of losing control or “going crazy”
Many people worry that panic means something is physically wrong. Others become afraid of the next attack, which can lead to constant self-monitoring, avoidance, and a shrinking sense of safety.
Why Panic Feels So Scary
Panic attacks are driven by a sensitive nervous system misfiring the body’s alarm system. Your body reacts as if there’s a threat, even when you’re actually safe.
Over time, panic often becomes more about the fear of panic itself. The more you try to prevent, escape, or control internal experiences, the more powerful they can feel.
This isn’t a failure. It’s how a nervous system learns — and it can relearn.
How Therapy Helps with Panic Attacks
Therapy for panic focuses on helping your nervous system relearn safety.
We work together to:
Understand what panic responses really are
Reduce fear of internal experiences
Decrease avoidance and safety behaviors
Build trust in your body’s ability to settle
Respond to panic without spiraling or escaping
Part of this work may include gently changing how you relate to internal sensations that tend to trigger panic. In some cases, this means briefly noticing or allowing sensations in a safe, controlled way during therapy.
This helps your nervous system learn that these experiences, while uncomfortable, are not dangerous and don’t require emergency responses.
Any work with internal sensations is always:
Collaborative
Optional
Introduced gradually
Adjusted to your comfort level
The goal is never to overwhelm you. It’s to reduce fear of fear itself, so panic has less power over time.
Therapy is paced, supportive, and focused on progress rather than forcing anything to happen.
What Panic Therapy Is Not
Panic therapy is not about telling you to “just calm down” or “control your breathing.”
It’s not about eliminating anxiety completely or avoiding panic forever. And it’s not about forcing you to confront sensations or situations before you’re ready.
Instead, therapy helps you stop treating panic as an emergency — which is what allows your nervous system to reset.
What to Expect in Panic Therapy
We’ll start by talking about your experiences with panic and what you’ve already tried. You don’t need to have the right words or a perfect explanation.
Sessions focus on:
Clear education about panic and the nervous system
Practical tools you can use in real-life moments
Gradual, intentional practice that builds confidence
Reducing fear of panic responses over time
Progress isn’t about never feeling anxious again. It’s about knowing you can handle it when anxiety shows up.
You’re Not Broken
Panic attacks are frightening, but they don’t mean you’re weak, unsafe, or broken.
With the right support, it’s possible to stop living in fear of your own body and feel more grounded and confident again.
If you’re ready to explore therapy for panic attacks, you can schedule a free 15-minute consultation.