Therapeutic Approach and Treatment
Comprehensive treatment for panic attacks
At the Tranquilamente clinic, we address panic attacks from an integrative model, free of judgment and focused on restoring your safety and well-being. The most scientifically evidenced treatment combines specialized clinical psychology and medical psychiatry.
Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy (CBT)
CBT is the gold-standard psychological approach for panic disorders. Through a safe space, you will work on:
- Cognitive restructuring: Identifying and deactivating automatic catastrophic thoughts triggered by the first physical sensations.
- Psychoeducation: Deeply understanding the physiology of anxiety to demystify attacks and lose fear of your own body.
- Self-regulation techniques: Training in diaphragmatic breathing and physiological deactivation strategies to calm the nervous system.
- Interoceptive and in-vivo exposure: Gradual, guided confrontation of feared bodily sensations and avoided spaces to extinguish the fear response.
Personalized pharmacological treatment
When symptoms are severe or significantly interfere with your daily life, psychiatric intervention helps stabilize the brain's neurochemical response:
- First-line modulating drugs (SSRIs / SNRIs): Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants as medium-term maintenance therapy. They are not addictive and gradually reduce the frequency and intensity of attacks.
- Anxiolytics or benzodiazepines: Can be prescribed in initial phases or very acute crises for rapid symptomatic relief. Their use is always under strict psychiatric medical control and for brief periods to avoid tolerance or dependence.
Remember that you do not have to go through this process alone. At Tranquilamente we design a therapeutic plan tailored to help you regain control of your life.
Specialists in the treatment of Panic Attacks
Overview
What is a panic attack and why does it happen?
A panic attack (or acute anxiety crisis) is a sudden and intense onset of extreme fear or discomfort that peaks within a few minutes. At the Tranquilamente clinic, we understand that experiencing such an episode is a deeply overwhelming event, where the body activates its "fight or flight" alarm system without any real or imminent danger in the environment.
During the crisis, the nervous system overloads, triggering a cascade of physical responses —such as palpitations, shortness of breath, or dizziness— accompanied by intense emotional suffering. It is crucial to understand that, although the sensations are alarming, a panic attack is not life-threatening nor will it damage your physical health; it is a highly treatable medical condition through the appropriate combination of psychotherapy and psychiatric care.
Main Symptoms
Main Symptoms of a Panic Attack
Symptoms of a panic attack emerge abruptly and usually reach their peak intensity within 5 to 10 minutes of onset. Although the crisis itself is short-lived, the subsequent physical exhaustion and emotional fatigue can last for hours.
Emotional and Cognitive Symptoms
- Sense of impending danger: Paralyzing fear that something terrible is about to happen.
- Fear of losing control: Heartbreaking fear of "going crazy" or being unable to control one's actions.
- Fear of dying: Catastrophic belief of suffering a heart attack or a lethal organic collapse.
- Derealization or depersonalization: Sensation of unreality, being disconnected from one's body, or viewing the environment as in a dream.
Physical and Immediate Signs
- Cardiorespiratory alterations: Tachycardia, violent palpitations, chest pain or tightness, and feeling of choking or shortness of breath (hyperventilation).
- Neuromuscular responses: Tremors, involuntary shaking, and paresthesias (tingling or numbness in hands, feet, or face).
- Neurovegetative manifestations: Profuse sweating, chills, hot flashes, dizziness, physical instability, or nausea.
Common Types
Types of Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
In clinical psychiatry, panic attacks are classified according to the presence or absence of a clear trigger and the frequency with which they repeat:
- Unexpected (spontaneous) attacks: Occur abruptly, without an apparent trigger or visible external cause. They can occur even during moments of relaxation or during sleep (nocturnal panic).
- Situational attacks: Appear predictably and immediately upon exposure to or anticipation of a specific stimulus or situation that generates phobia or high anxiety (for example, boarding a plane or entering a closed space).
- Situationally conditioned attacks: More likely to occur when in certain circumstances, but do not trigger the crisis invariably or immediately on all occasions.
- Panic Disorder: Diagnosed when the person experiences recurrent and unexpected crises, accompanied by constant worry (anticipatory anxiety) about suffering new episodes or their consequences, which often leads to avoiding places or situations (agoraphobia).