Panic Attacks: Finding Calm Amidst the Storm

Find Calm Amidst the Storm with The Six Pillars of Making a Life That Works

Panic attacks are sudden, intense waves of fear and physical discomfort that can feel overwhelming. They often appear without warning, leaving those who experience them feeling out of control or even in danger. Symptoms might include racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, and a feeling of detachment from reality. Panic attacks can be confusing and frightening, but it’s important to remember they are not a sign of personal failure or weakness. Instead, they are a response from the body and mind, signaling a need for understanding and care.

I see panic attacks as a part of the human experience, one that can be managed with the right approach and tools. My compassionate, structured therapy is rooted in The Six Pillars of Making a Life That Works, offering guidance and support to help you regain peace, understand your experiences, and take back control of your life.

My Approach to Panic Attacks

My method, based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), integrates the Six Pillars to help you navigate the complexities of panic attacks:

  1. Contacting the Present Moment (Be Here Now): Practicing mindfulness reduces preoccupation with fear, reconnecting you to the immediate present.
  2. Defusion (Watch Your Thinking): By observing your thoughts without attaching to them, you can view them as passing rather than overwhelming.
  3. Acceptance (Open Up): Embracing all emotions, rather than resisting, fosters resilience and reduces the impact of challenging feelings.
  4. Self-as-Context (Balancing Self-Identity): Recognizing yourself beyond moments of panic helps maintain a stable self-view during challenging experiences.
  5. Values (Know What Matters): Identifying and aligning with your values brings purpose to your actions, helping to anchor you even when panic arises.
  6. Committed Action (Do What It Takes): Taking meaningful steps in line with your values builds a fulfilling life, less dominated by fear and avoidance.

A Five-Question Process to Navigate Panic Attacks

In addition to the Six Pillars, I teach a practical five-question process for managing panic attacks effectively:

  1. Acknowledge Thoughts, Feelings, and Sensations
    Allow yourself to observe and name what’s happening physically and mentally, without judgment.
  2. Validate: Does This Make Sense?
    Reflect on the roots of your reaction. For instance, it may make sense to feel overwhelmed if you’ve faced past traumas or have not had tools to manage fear.
  3. Identify Catastrophic Beliefs
    Recognize limiting beliefs, such as “I can’t handle this” or “I am not safe,” which often fuel panic.
  4. Seek the Truth
    Ground yourself with affirmations like “I am capable of getting through this” or “This feeling is temporary.”
  5. Willingness to Act in Alignment with Values
    Take steps rooted in your values, whether through grounding exercises, reaching out for support, or redirecting focus to positivity and gratitude.

Take the First Step Toward Calm

If you’re ready to reclaim peace and live free from the limitations of panic, schedule a free 15-minute consultation. We’ll discuss your needs, I’ll introduce you to my approach, and we’ll explore how I can support you on your journey to calm and confidence.

Reach out today, and let’s take the first step together.

What people often get wrong about panic attacks

Why most of it is exactly what the panic wants you to believe.

A smiling Colt Gordon with curly hair and a beard is wearing a white shirt, standing in front of a colorful landscape background and a bookshelf.

The Misconception

A panic attack can last for hours.

The Reality

The acute surge typically peaks within about ten minutes — your body cannot sustain full alarm much longer; the adrenaline metabolizes. What lasts hours is the aftermath of fighting it and the dread of the next one. Shorten the fight and you shorten the experience.

The Misconception

A panic attack means something is medically wrong with my heart.

The Reality

Panic attacks impersonate heart attacks — racing pulse, chest tightness, shortness of breath — which is why ERs see so many of them. Getting checked medically once is wise. After that, knowing it's panic changes the game: terrifying, yes; dangerous, no.

The Misconception

Fighting a panic attack is how you stop it.

The Reality

Fighting panic is gasoline on the fire — the struggle itself signals emergency, which produces more adrenaline, which confirms the emergency. What you resist, persists. Dropping the fight — acknowledging, allowing, riding the wave — is what lets the surge crest and fall.

The Misconception

I should avoid the places where I’ve panicked.

The Reality

That's how panic attacks become panic disorder — the map of forbidden places grows until life happens inside a shrinking circle. The places were never the problem; the fear of the fear is. Reclaiming them, gradually and with tools, reverses the shrinking.

The Misconception

I’m the only person who gets these.

The Reality

Panic attacks are among the most common experiences in mental health — millions of people have them, most hiding it well. The secrecy is part of the suffering. In session, panic is ordinary weather; there's nothing you can describe that will surprise me.

The Misconception

If I just ignore the panic, it will stop happening.

The Reality

Suppression isn't neutral — pushing the experience away is another form of fighting it, and the monitoring it requires keeps the alarm primed. The alternative to ignoring isn't obsessing; it's acknowledging without obeying. "Thank you for sharing, panic" beats pretending it isn't there.

The Misconception

My panic attacks come out of nowhere.

The Reality

They feel random, but panic usually has a run-up: accumulated stress, subtle body sensations, a catastrophic interpretation, then the surge. Learning to spot the earlier links in the chain is how "out of nowhere" becomes "I see you coming."

The Misconception

Once panic starts, there’s nothing I can do.

The Reality

There's a specific sequence: acknowledge what's happening, validate that it makes sense, name the catastrophic belief, answer it with the truth — "I can handle this; this is temporary" — and take opposite action. Practiced, it turns panic from a hijacking into an event.

The Misconception

Panic treatment means years on a therapist’s couch.

The Reality

Panic responds to skills-based work faster than almost anything else I treat. The mechanism is learnable, the process is teachable, and many clients change their relationship with panic in a matter of months. This is one of therapy's genuine good-news stories.

The Misconception

Panicking means I’m going crazy or losing control.

The Reality

No one has ever gone crazy from a panic attack. The "losing my mind" feeling is a symptom — derealization and dread are on the standard menu — not a preview. The catastrophic belief is the engine; seeing it as a belief is the beginning of the exit.

    Straight answers about panic attacks

    What’s happening in your body, how fast treatment works, and whether I’ll ever push you further than you agreed to (no). Whatever’s left, ask me directly in a free 15-minute consultation.

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