Specialty
Panic Attacks Therapy
When panic strikes out of nowhere
A panic attack can feel like an emergency. Your heart races, your chest tightens, you feel dizzy or short of breath, and part of you becomes convinced that something is seriously wrong, that you are losing control, or worse. Then it passes, and you are left shaken and confused about what just happened. *
For many people, the attacks themselves become only half the problem. The other half is the fear of the next one. You start monitoring your body for early signs, avoiding places where an attack would be embarrassing or hard to escape, and organizing your life around not panicking. *
Panic is frightening, but it is also one of the most treatable forms of anxiety. Understanding what panic actually is, and retraining how your body responds to its first flickers, can break the cycle. Many people become free of panic attacks entirely. *
Signs panic attacks may be affecting your life
- Sudden waves of intense fear that seem to come out of nowhere
- A racing or pounding heart during episodes
- Shortness of breath, chest tightness, or a choking feeling
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, or feeling detached from your surroundings
- Fear that you are losing control, going crazy, or having a medical emergency
- Constant monitoring of your body for early warning signs
- Avoiding subways, elevators, crowds, or other places where escape feels hard
- Worrying between episodes about when the next one will hit
- Declining plans or opportunities because panic might strike
- Feeling embarrassed or ashamed about the attacks
Our approach to panic attacks
Panic thrives on misinterpretation. The body produces a surge of sensation, the mind reads it as danger, and that reading amplifies the sensation into a full attack. Effective treatment works on both levels, helping you understand the cycle clearly and giving your nervous system a different way to respond to those first flickers of sensation. *
Treatment is individualized. Alongside traditional psychotherapy, we may use somatic and experiential work to change your relationship with the physical sensations themselves, clinical hypnosis to build a felt sense of safety and control, and EMDR when a frightening first attack or an earlier overwhelming experience is feeding the cycle. The sequencing matters, and your psychologist will map it with you. *
Clinician who specializes in panic attacks
EMDR · Hypnosis · Psychodynamic
Dr. Zylstra has particular strength in treating panic attacks. He helps clients understand the panic cycle from the inside, retrain the body’s response to its first signals, and reclaim the places and situations panic has taken off the map. *
Full profile →Modalities
Therapy approaches that may help
We integrate these techniques, custom-tailored to you, in the order your nervous system can use first.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a panic attack?
- A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear with strong physical symptoms, racing heart, dizziness, shortness of breath, that typically peaks within minutes. It is the body’s alarm system firing at full strength without a real emergency present. *
- How is panic different from general anxiety?
- Ongoing worry tends to be a steady background hum, while panic arrives in sudden, intense waves. Many people experience both, and treatment can address the two patterns together. *
- Could my symptoms be a medical problem instead?
- Panic symptoms overlap with several medical conditions, so it is sensible to have new or unexplained physical symptoms checked by a physician. Therapy for panic works alongside appropriate medical care, not instead of it. *
- Can panic attacks really stop completely?
- Very often, yes. Panic is one of the most treatable anxiety concerns, and many people who complete treatment stop having attacks altogether. Just as importantly, they stop fearing them, which is what gives life its freedom back. *
- What happens if I have a panic attack during a session?
- Nothing goes wrong. Sessions are a safe place for panic to show up, and working with the experience live, with support, is often one of the most powerful parts of treatment. *
- How long does treatment for panic take?
- Many people notice meaningful change within a few months. If panic connects to deeper experiences, the work may extend further, and your psychologist will be transparent with you about what they see. *
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