Panic Disorder Treatment in Ohio

Panic attacks feel terrifying, but they're not dangerous. Treatment helps you stop fearing the attacks and break the cycle of avoidance that keeps panic alive.

What Panic Disorder Looks Like

Panic disorder involves recurrent, unexpected panic attacks—sudden surges of intense fear with physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, or feeling like you're losing control or dying. The attacks peak within minutes but leave you shaken and exhausted.

The attacks themselves are frightening, but panic disorder develops when you become afraid of having another attack. You start monitoring your body for warning signs, avoiding places where you've panicked before, or steering clear of situations where escape might be difficult. This fear of fear creates a cycle: anxiety about panic triggers more panic, which strengthens the avoidance.

Over time, your world can shrink. You might avoid driving, crowded places, being far from home, or anything that feels risky. Some people develop agoraphobia—fear of situations where panic might occur and help wouldn't be available. Panic attacks can also occur outside of panic disorder, but the treatment approach remains the same: learning that panic is uncomfortable but not dangerous, and breaking the avoidance cycle.

Why Panic Disorder Persists

Panic disorder stays alive through avoidance and safety behaviors. You avoid places or situations where you've panicked, carry safety items like medication or water, stay near exits, or only go out with trusted people. You monitor your body constantly for signs of an impending attack—checking your heart rate, breathing, or dizziness.

Each avoidance provides temporary relief but reinforces the belief that panic is dangerous and must be prevented. You never learn that panic attacks, while intensely uncomfortable, are not medically harmful. The attacks feel life-threatening, but they're your body's alarm system misfiring—not an actual emergency.

How Treatment Helps

Treatment for panic disorder combines cognitive and behavioral approaches. We start by understanding what's driving the fear—not just the panic attacks themselves, but the beliefs about what they mean. Do you believe you're having a heart attack? Losing control? Going crazy? Often, gaining insight into how panic works—recognizing it as a false alarm rather than a real threat—shifts how you respond to the sensations.

Using evidence-based cognitive and compassion-focused techniques, we explore the catastrophic interpretations that fuel panic: that physical sensations are dangerous, that panic will lead to collapse or humiliation, or that you can't handle the discomfort. This isn't about convincing you panic isn't real—it's about understanding that it's not harmful.

Exposure therapy remains central. You'll practice triggering panic sensations intentionally—through exercises like hyperventilation, spinning, or intense physical activity—to learn that the sensations are uncomfortable but manageable. You'll also gradually face situations you've been avoiding, without using safety behaviors. The cognitive work and exposures reinforce each other. Understanding that panic is a false alarm makes exposures feel less dangerous. Completing exposures without catastrophe provides real-world evidence that challenges your fears. Over time, you learn that you can tolerate panic without fleeing, and that avoidance has been making it worse.

What to Expect

Exposure therapy for panic is direct. You'll intentionally trigger the physical sensations you've been afraid of and practice staying present without trying to stop them. This is uncomfortable, especially at first. Anxiety will spike, and you might experience panic during treatment. That's expected—and it's part of learning that panic is survivable.

Sessions are conducted via telehealth, but treatment involves real-world practice. You'll gradually re-enter situations you've avoided—driving, crowded spaces, being far from home—without safety behaviors. Progress is gradual. You'll notice yourself panicking less frequently, recovering faster when it does happen, and spending less time monitoring your body or avoiding situations. Panic won't necessarily disappear completely, but it will lose its power to control your life.

Getting Started

If fear of panic has limited where you go and what you do, avoidance isn't keeping you safe—it's keeping you stuck. Treatment helps you stop treating panic as dangerous and start living without constant fear of the next attack.