CBT for Panic Disorder: All the Information You Need

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) may be helpful for you if you experience panic attacks or have been given a diagnosis of panic disorder. Learn more about the benefits of this treatment choice.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: What Is It?

A type of psychotherapy known as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is particularly useful for treating anxiety and insomnia but is also helpful for treating other issues like substance misuse, issues with controlling strong emotions, depression, OCD, eating disorders, and addictions. As opposed to traditional treatment, it is more skill-based and practical. Exercises for the patient to complete between sessions are frequently given by CBT therapists. Building the abilities necessary to solve the relevant problem is assisted by this task.

The dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), motivational interviewing, behavior therapy, exposure therapy, and other therapies are all included in CBT. There is a special CBT technique for treating panic disorder. “Panic control treatment” is another name for this therapy. It consists of specialized exercises that reduce your risk of panic attacks and teach you why your body responds the way it does when you experience panic symptoms.

How Effective Is CBT for Panic Disorder?

Treatment for panic disorder that is successful is cognitive-behavioral therapy. In actuality, it serves as the condition’s primary treatment. This means that before proposing any other treatments, mental health professionals should offer (or recommend) this treatment. Additionally, medications are regarded as the first-line therapy for panic disorder.

Generally speaking, you should experience a significant improvement if you participate in all therapy sessions and complete all of your therapist’s prescribed homework assignments. Many people report completely absent panic attacks, including with the avoidance and worry they bring.

How avoidance worsens your anxiety

Discovering panic

The first step after receiving a diagnosis of panic disorder and deciding to start CBT therapy for it is to educate yourself about the physiological basis of panic attacks. Your body, neurological system, and brain all work together in particular ways during a panic attack. The more you comprehend what’s going on, the better equipped you’ll be to take action.

Breathing exercises

You might learn how to breathe during a panic attack from your therapist. If you can manage to do this, you’ll probably discover that altering your breathing can lessen the intensity of the panic.

Exposure

The therapist will then have you attempt certain activities to see if any bodily sensations could be your panic attacks’ potential causes. In that case, you’ll perform additional activities to lessen your susceptibility to these feelings. You’ll experience fewer panic episodes as a result of this.

For instance, the symptoms that go along with a rise in heart rate might be a trigger for many individuals with panic disorder. The therapist may “prescribe” exercises in CBT for panic disorder that will gradually lessen sensitivity to these feelings. The patient will be less susceptible to panic episodes as a result.

Different ways of thinking

Additionally, you’ll discover new ways to approach circumstances that would otherwise make you feel anxious. Many sufferers of panic disorder discover that certain circumstances might cause their thinking to become warped, which may make them more susceptible to panic episodes.

Taking back your life

Finally, you’ll practice using your new abilities to perform the activities that previously caused you to experience panic attacks. When you can perform them without experiencing panic episodes, you’ll feel much more at ease performing the formerly terrifying tasks.

Which is a better option for treating panic disorder: CBT or medication?

In some studies on panic disorder, CBT was “much more effective” than medicine, according to a notable 2005 literature assessment, and CBT was generally “at least as effective” as pharmaceuticals for this illness. According to several research, CBT and medicine work better together than they do separately.

Choosing between a course of CBT for panic disorder and medication is frequently a matter of personal preference. Most people favor one of these choices over the other, so if both are offered to you, it might be a good idea to choose the one that makes you feel more at ease.

How to Stop an Attack of Panic

You should also think about how long your progress will last. CBT for panic disorder patients often results in long-term recovery. However, after taking a course of medicine, many patients experience a relapse of their symptoms.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, including Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, Prozac, and others, are the most often prescribed drugs. Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors including Cymbalta, Effexor, and Pristiq are also widely prescribed. Benzodiazepines can lead to addiction are less commonly prescribed. These include medicines like Valium, Ativan, Klonopin, and Xanax. These drugs can be prescribed by a psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, or family physician.

The medicine that many sufferers of panic disorder have been administered would prefer to stop. People who use cognitive behavioral therapy may need less or no medication overall.

Using mindfulness to reduce stress (MBSR)

An 8-week group session called mindfulness-based stress reduction offers meditation practices. It has been proven useful in treating panic disorder by studies (though this research is not as strong as the research behind the first-line treatments described above). You can do it online, there are different options available on the internet. However, if at all possible, we advise taking the course locally in person.

Here are few certified therapists who you can get in touch and book a therapy session with:

Basak Jeffreys

Gabriella Clarke

Mabel Doole