What Is Panic Disorder?

Panic disorder is a distinct form of anxiety. While most anxiety disorders cause panic attacks, these attacks have clear triggers. When panic disorder causes an attack, it doesn’t have a clear reason for happening. The panic attacks become a panic disorder when they cause an individual to change their behavior or feel anxious about future attacks.

A panic attack causes many severe and uncomfortable symptoms, including:

• Feelings of fear and dread
• Increased heart rate
• Trouble breathing
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Shaking

While panic attacks don’t pose any physical danger, they can affect a person’s well-being, and these symptoms tend to cause additional stress.

How Does Panic Disorder Impact a Person’s Life?

The unpredictable nature of the attacks caused by panic disorder makes the person with the condition fear having more of them. As a result, they can experience anxiety symptoms or develop additional anxiety disorders. Many individuals with panic disorder have agoraphobia because they create an association between their attacks and specific locations. Some begin to avoid certain places or objects out of fear of triggering an attack. Someone with panic disorder also has a high chance of developing depression or medical problems.

How Can Bloom Help?

We specialize in addressing behavioral health conditions like panic disorder — we’ll work to ensure that you can have a more fulfilling life with our panic disorder therapy and treatment. Our mental health team addresses the condition using two approaches:

• Medication management: Antidepressants and anxiety medicines can relieve the symptoms associated with panic disorder. Our experts will find and prescribe a medication that suits your symptoms. They may prescribe one type of medicine or multiple medications. Over time, they’ll also help you adjust your medication dosages for optimal treatment.
• Therapy: Understanding your thoughts and feelings and how they relate to your panic disorder can help you manage your symptoms. Therapy for panic disorder involves identifying any triggers, negative thought patterns or unhealthy behaviors and working with you to change these habits. You’ll also learn coping strategies to use when you have a panic attack or related symptoms.‍‍

Services for Panic Disorder at Bloom

If you’re looking for panic disorder counseling services for yourself or a loved one, please contact us to request an appointment. We offer both telehealth and in-person appointments for your convenience. Start your journey to a calmer, brighter future today.