Treating Panic Disorder: Our Client Success Stories

A 20 year old college sophomore presented with acute panic disorder after a series of life altering events. Within one year, she was involved in 3 car accidents, had two young friends die of unrelated health issues, struggled with complications of an elective surgery, and broke up with a boyfriend. She complained of several physical symptoms of anxiety including heart palpitations, difficulty taking deep breaths, anticipatory fear of a heart attack, etc. Within 3 CBT sessions, she was able to get her anxiety under control and stop her panic attacks.

A 25 year old web developer developed recurrent panic attacks after experiencing difficulty breathing, dizziness and faintness after a work out at the gym. Her hypothyroidism, chronic inner ear maladies and tinnitus exacerbated her panic symptoms and her concerns about more serious health threats. In addition to her underlying medical issues, she had recently come out to her family that she is gay. Psychoeducation, relaxation therapy, cognitive restructuring and exposure exercises proved to be extremely effective in stopping her panic attacks in 8 sessions.

A 39 year old manager of a Graphics Design Department reported having recurrent panic attacks for the last four months. With the help of short-term CBT, she was able to decrease multiple work stressors and relationship struggles and improve her overall quality of life. Within a handful of sessions, she learned how to better manage the physical symptoms of her anxiety and ultimately reached her goal of being panic free.

A 55 year old woman presented with recurrent panic attacks that had started to wake her out of her sleep. Heart palpitations, hot flushes, fear of losing control, chest tightness and hyperventilation were causing her significant distress. Four sessions of psychoeducation, relaxation therapy, and cognitive restructuring allowed her to handle her life stressors in a much more manageable way and allowed her to be panic free within a few weeks time.

A 50 year old woman with a fear of becoming reliant on Xanax for recurrent panic attacks wanted short-term CBT to help her manage her distressing physical symptoms which included heart palpitations, light headedness, tremors, and the urge to escape her own body. She obsessed over these somatic discomforts and sought frequent reassurance from doctors that she was healthy. She had several life stressors that perpetuated her anxiety such as a mother with Alzheimers, relationship difficulties with her daughter, and turmoil with her sister. Within a short period of time, her health concerns were mitigated, her panic attacks were under control, her relationships were improved and she had no further need for Xanax.