Anxiety and Panic Disorders
What is Anxiety and Panic?
Anxiety and panic are related but different experiences that often bring people to therapy. Understanding what each feels like and how they show up can help you recognize patterns and find strategies that work.
Anxiety is a natural, anticipatory response to perceived threat, uncertainty, or stress. It prepares the body and mind to respond to challenges. When it becomes persistent, excessive, or out of proportion to the situation, it can interfere with daily life.
Anxiety often surrounds worry about the future, “what if” thinking, difficulty concentrating, feeling on edge or irritable, dread. Thoughts often focus on potential problems, mistakes, or social judgment. You may experience muscle tension, restlessness, fatigue, headaches, stomach issues, difficulty sleeping, racing heart or mild shortness of breath.
If anxiety is frequent, intense, or causes avoidance, impaired functioning at work or relationships, or significant distress, it may be a sign that it is time to reach out for help to regain control over your symptoms and life experience.
Panic is a sudden, intense surge of fear or discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes. Panic is the body’s acute alarm reaction—often disproportionate to the actual danger. Panic commonly appears as an overwhelming fear, a sense of losing control, feeling detached from reality (derealization) or oneself (depersonalization), fear of dying, fainting, or going crazy.
During panic, you can experience a rapid heart rate, chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling, dizziness, numbness or tingling, hot or cold flashes, nausea. These symptoms can mimic medical emergencies, which increases fear.
While panic is usually short and intense—typically peaks within 10 minutes and subsides within 20–30 minutes, worry and residual symptoms can last longer.
What should I expect from
Anxiety therapy?
Therapy will help you learn what symptoms mean and why they happen to reduce fear and normalizes the experience. You will discover a variety of skills and techniques such as breathing exercises, grounding techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness reduce immediate symptoms.
Doing the deeper work to identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts (catastrophizing, overgeneralizing) decreases anxiety-driven behavior. Additionally, gradual, supported exposure to feared situations or sensations reduces avoidance and panic sensitivity.
You’ve suffered long enough, it’s time to relieve the stress and begin experiencing wellness.
If you are seeking online OCD therapy and live in Nevada, Utah or Maryland, we can help. We serve across the states in Las Vegas, Reno, Pahrump, St. George, Salt Lake City, Logan, Baltimore, Annapolis and Frederick. Schedule your first session today!