Panic attacks
Panic attacks are brutal. They can feel like you’re dying, losing control, or about to do something embarrassing in public — and then you’re left exhausted and scared of the next one.
This is therapy for panic attacks that’s built for real life: we work with what your body is doing, what your mind is predicting, and the patterns that keep the loop running.
Sessions: online worldwide and in person in London (Barbican & Bounds Green). I also work with young adults.
Home visits: in certain circumstances, and where it’s appropriate and safe, I can offer home visits for severe panic where getting to a session feels impossible.
What I help with
- Panic attacks that come “out of nowhere” (they usually don’t, the body just learned to fire fast)
- Health panic and fear of dying, fainting, or having a heart attack
- Social panic (fear of being watched, trapped, or judged)
- Panic in specific places: the Tube, supermarkets, bridges, driving, queues
- Aftershocks: avoidance, safety behaviours, checking, reassurance loops
- Young adults dealing with panic alongside exams, relationships, identity pressure, or leaving home
Why panic keeps repeating
Panic is a threat response. Your body interprets something as danger, adrenaline surges, and your mind tries to explain it fast. The problem is what happens next: you start watching for symptoms, avoiding situations, and “managing” your way through life.
That management becomes the fuel. The nervous system learns: this situation is dangerous. The loop tightens.
Sometimes panic is also connected to what I call incomplete stress or trauma cycles — moments your system didn’t get to finish processing. That doesn’t mean you need to relive the past for years. It means we work with what’s still unfinished in the body’s alarm system.
Panic can also resurface after medication changes. If you’ve been advised to reduce or stop medication, panic attacks can flare during that adjustment period. That doesn’t mean you’ve gone backwards or that something is wrong with you. Sometimes the nervous system is recalibrating; sometimes the original panic pattern is re‑emerging.
We can work with the panic loop and the fear of sensations, while any medication changes themselves remain the responsibility of your GP or prescriber.
- We map your panic pattern (triggers, sensations, predictions, safety behaviours)
- We reduce the fear of the sensations (the bit that turns anxiety into panic)
- We retrain the ‘false alarm’ response using hypnosis, regulation and guided rehearsal
- We plan for real-world exposures that feel doable (no heroic suffering)
- We build a relapse plan so a wobble doesn’t become a full avoidance spiral
Evidence note: Panic attacks are strongly associated with sensitisation of threat systems and avoidance learning. Treatments that combine cognitive and behavioural methods with interoceptive exposure show good outcomes for panic disorder, and hypnosis can be used to support attention, expectation and rehearsal where appropriate.
How we work together
This isn’t about telling you to “calm down”. It’s about changing what your system is doing.
Breathwork can be useful here too — but only in the right way. Not forceful breathing that ramps sensations up. We use slow, regulating breathwork to help the nervous system settle and to reduce fear of bodily sensations. For panic, it’s less about controlling your breath and more about changing your relationship to sensation.
We’ll start with what happens in a panic attack: the first sensations, the thoughts that follow, and the behaviours that keep it alive. Then we work to interrupt and retrain the loop.
If getting out of the house is the main barrier, we can discuss a home visit in specific circumstances. This is case-by-case and depends on location, safety, and whether it’s clinically appropriate.
- Clear formulation of your panic loop (so you stop feeling “mad”)
- Skills to ride the wave without feeding it (breath, attention, body cues)
- Hypnotherapy to update automatic responses and reduce anticipatory fear
- Practical exposure planning that fits your life and pace
- Support for young adults and the specific stressors that amplify panic
FAQs
Panic attacks feel dangerous, but in most cases they’re a false alarm: a surge of adrenaline and threat response. That said, if you’ve never been medically checked for symptoms like chest pain, fainting, or breathlessness, speak to your GP to rule out medical causes.
No. If trauma is part of the picture, we work carefully and respectfully. The aim is to complete what your nervous system still treats as unfinished, without forcing you into overwhelm.
Yes. I work with young adults, including exam-related panic, social panic, and panic linked to transitions (leaving home, university, work, relationships).
In certain circumstances, yes. If panic is so debilitating that you can’t get to a session, we can discuss a home visit. This is case-by-case and depends on location, safety, and whether it’s clinically appropriate.
Some people feel relief quickly once the panic loop is mapped and the fear of sensations reduces. For others it takes longer, especially where there’s longstanding avoidance or trauma load. We’ll be straight about what’s realistic for you.
If you’re ready to get help with panic attacks, you can start here:
Send an enquiry or see work with me + pricing.
Note: If you feel at immediate risk, or you’re in crisis, contact local emergency services or your GP.