Panic Attack Counselling in Coquitlam, BC and online

Panic attacks can be experienced a little differently for everyone, but they very often include these symptoms:
 

• A racing or pounding heart, or chest tightness and pain

• Shortness of breath or a feeling of choking

• Dizziness, lightheadedness or feeling like you are going to faint

• Trembling, shaking, sweating, chills or hot flashes

• Nausea or stomach distress

• A feeling of things "being unreal" 

• A feeling of being detached from yourself (derealization or depersonalization effects)

• A sudden fear that you are dying, having a heart attack, or "going crazy"

• A strong urge to flee, hide or escape the situation

If this is your experience, your body is not malfunctioning. It is actually doing exactly what a nervous system is designed to do under perceived threat. Your nervous system has learned to sound the alarm. Just the alarm sometimes switches on a little bit too quickly and too loud, or at the wrong times.

 

How Do Panic Attacks Work

Panic attacks are rooted in the body's fight, flight, freeze or fawn response. It is our very human and very ancient survival system that activates faster than conscious thought.

Often, panic attacks develop after periods of chronic stress, unresolved trauma, major life transitions, single stressful life event (like car accident) or even early attachment experiences where safety and emotional regulation were not reliably available.

The good news is that the nervous system that learned to panic can also learn, gently and gradually, that it is safe to settle.
This is the foundation of my nervous system regulation work, and it is central to how I support clients through panic.

 

My Counselling Approach to Panic Attacks

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I draw from several evidence-based and body-centred approaches. I customize and offer a combination approach based on your experience and needs to match the treatment goal best. These are approaches that I use: 

Nervous system regulation & Somatic work
We work directly with your body's stress response: including learning to recognize early warning signs, practising grounding and breath-based tools, and helping your body re-learn what safety feels like. Panic lives in the body and in our nervous system, so healing has to include the addressing these part first.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps us gently examine the thoughts and beliefs that fuel the panic cycle, such as the fear of fear itself, and replace them with more accurate, steadying ways of understanding what is happening in your body. The idea is to change the thought so the experience of the body and the feelings also re-calibrate to a less fearful ones.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
MBCT teaches you to notice rising sensations and thoughts with curiosity rather than alarm, so panic has less power to spiral. Over time,
this builds real confidence in your ability to ride out a wave of fear.

EMDR Therapy
When panic is connected to a specific frightening experience, a car accident, a medical scare, or earlier trauma, EMDR can help your brain and body fully process and release what is still being carried as unfinished business.

Attachment-based healing
For many people, panic is not only about the body, it is also about safety in connection. When early relationships didn't offer consistent comfort or co-regulation, the nervous system can stay on high alert long into adulthood. Working through an attachment-based
lens helps us build a felt sense of safety that panic recovery grows from

What You Can Expect From Our Work Together

 

We will start by understanding your panic, what it feels like for you, when and where  it shows up, and what your body and history may be telling us. From there, we build a toolkit together: grounding strategies you can use in the moment as well as deeper work to address what is underneath the panic, so it has less reason to return. 

With consistent support, people I work with often experience:
 

• Fewer and less intense panic episodes

• More confidence in their ability to cope if panic does arise

• Less anticipation, fear and avoidance

• A greater sense of safety in their own body

• A deeper understanding of what their panic has been trying to tell them

• A new sense of compassion and empathy towards themselves

Panic attacks can feel like they come out of nowhere and take over everything. You do not have to deal with this alone, and you do not have to keep just managing it or suppressing it. We can work together to help your mind, body and nervous system feel safe again.

Related Support

Panic attacks sometimes come "as a package" and often accompany other symptoms that clients experience. Panic attacks can also be experienced as a part of other challenges I support clients with, including

• anxiety,

• trauma and PTSD,

• recovery from car accidents,

• stress and burnout,

• nighttime anxiety

If any of these feel familiar, it might be helpful to read more about them. At the core of my counselling approach there is always nervous system regulation, attachment-based healing and techniques that aim to help our body and mind both feel sage, connected and regulated. Read more about how I approach them through therapy and how they might be connected and don't hesitate to reach out anytime to connect.