Can panic attacks really feel like a heart attack?

Yes. Panic can create strong physical sensations that mimic medical symptoms. If symptoms are new or concerning, seek medical advice. Therapy then focuses on the panic cycle and fear of sensations.

Why do I panic more when I’m worried about panicking?

Because fear of the symptoms increases adrenaline and body monitoring, which intensifies sensations. Therapy breaks that fear-of-fear loop.

Will therapy make me face panic on purpose?

Therapy is paced and collaborative. The aim is to reduce fear of sensations and avoidance gradually, not to overwhelm you.

Can therapy help if I avoid places because of panic?

Yes. Avoidance is a common maintaining factor. Therapy helps you return to places and activities in a structured way so confidence grows.

Can panic be linked to health anxiety?

Yes, and the two can reinforce each other. Therapy helps clarify the cycle and reduce reassurance and checking patterns.

Do you offer panic therapy in London and online?

Yes. We offer therapy in London and online across the UK.

Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder Therapy

Panic attacks can feel terrifying. They often come with intense physical sensations — racing heart, breathlessness, dizziness, nausea, trembling, heat, numbness, or a sense of unreality — and a sudden fear that something is seriously wrong. Many people describe feeling as though they might collapse, lose control, or die, even when medically they are safe.

Panic is the body’s threat system firing at the wrong time. The sensations are real, but they are not usually a sign of danger. The problem is that once you’ve had a panic attack, you can begin to fear the sensations themselves, and that fear can create a cycle where panic becomes more likely.

At Hampstead Psychology, we offer evidence-based therapy for panic in London and online across the UK. We help you understand the panic cycle, reduce fear of bodily sensations, and rebuild confidence so life feels safe again.

This page is for information and does not replace a clinical assessment, diagnosis, or medical advice.

When panic starts to take over

You might recognise some of these experiences:

You experience sudden surges of fear with intense physical symptoms.
You worry the sensations mean you’re having a heart problem, fainting, or losing control.
You become highly alert to bodily sensations and monitor them throughout the day.
You avoid places where panic might happen, or where escape feels difficult.
You rely on “safety” strategies — sitting near exits, carrying water, checking pulse, staying close to home.
You feel anxious about having another attack, even on days when you’re calm.
Your world starts to shrink because you plan around panic.
You feel embarrassed, ashamed, or alone, because panic feels hard to explain.
You’ve had medical checks, but reassurance doesn’t last.
You feel exhausted from constant vigilance.

If this fits, you’re not weak, and you’re not broken. Panic is common and highly treatable. Therapy helps you change the fear-of-fear cycle so panic stops running your life.

How panic can show up

Panic attacks that feel “out of the blue”

Some panic attacks appear to arrive without warning. Often, the body has been carrying stress, fatigue, or background anxiety, and the panic surge is the nervous system tipping over. Therapy helps you identify patterns and triggers more accurately and reduce baseline arousal.

Fear of bodily sensations

Panic often becomes self-perpetuating because sensations are misinterpreted as danger. A racing heart becomes “heart attack,” dizziness becomes “fainting,” unreality becomes “losing my mind.” The fear then increases adrenaline, intensifying symptoms. Therapy helps you break this misinterpretation loop.

Avoidance and safety behaviours

Avoidance is understandable because it reduces fear in the moment. But it teaches the brain that the situation really was dangerous. Safety behaviours do something similar: they become “proof” you survived because of the safety strategy. Therapy helps you reduce these patterns gradually and rebuild confidence.

Panic alongside other difficulties

Panic often overlaps with general anxiety, health anxiety, stress and burnout, insomnia, and low mood. Therapy helps clarify what’s driving your panic so treatment is targeted and effective.

Related difficulties we often see alongside panic

Panic often comes with anticipatory anxiety, health anxiety, avoidance, reassurance seeking, and sleep disruption. Many people also develop fear of exercise, fear of travel, or fear of crowded places because sensations and escape feel risky.

Therapy takes the whole picture into account while staying focused on the panic cycle.

Medical input alongside therapy

Panic symptoms can mimic medical issues, and it’s always appropriate to seek medical advice if symptoms are new, severe, or concerning. Therapy focuses on the panic cycle once medical factors have been appropriately considered. Where needed, we recommend appropriate medical input through your GP or treating clinician alongside therapy.

What keeps panic going?

Panic is often maintained by a very specific loop.

A physical sensation appears (or you notice one).
Your mind interprets it as dangerous.
Fear rises, adrenaline increases, and symptoms intensify.
You respond by escaping, avoiding, checking, or seeking reassurance.
You feel relief, but your brain learns that the sensation and situation were dangerous.
Next time, you’re more alert and panic becomes more likely.

Therapy helps you step out of this loop by changing the interpretation of sensations, reducing safety behaviours, and rebuilding trust in your ability to tolerate and recover.

How therapy for panic helps

At Hampstead Psychology, we use approaches that are widely used in evidence-based psychological practice. For panic, therapy is typically CBT-informed and may include interoceptive work (learning to tolerate bodily sensations safely), alongside ACT and compassion-focused work where helpful.

In practice, therapy often involves understanding your panic cycle clearly, learning what panic symptoms actually are, and reducing fear of sensations through paced, structured practice. We also work on reducing avoidance and safety behaviours so your life expands again.

The aim isn’t to control every sensation. The aim is to stop treating sensations as threats, so the panic cycle loses its fuel.

What to expect from sessions

We begin by understanding your panic history: what happens in an attack, what triggers it, what you do next, and what impact it has on your day-to-day life. We develop a shared map and a clear direction for therapy.

Sessions are collaborative and active. You’ll leave with insight that feels usable and practical steps to try between sessions, reviewed and refined over time. We work at a pace that feels safe and steady, because confidence builds through repeated experiences of coping, not through forcing yourself.

How long does therapy take?

This varies. Some people benefit from focused panic work and begin to feel change relatively quickly once the cycle is understood and practised. Others need longer, especially when panic is linked to trauma stress, health anxiety, depression, or long-standing avoidance.

We review progress together so therapy stays purposeful and aligned with your goals.

Panic attack therapy in Hampstead and online

We offer panic therapy in person in London and online across the UK. Online sessions can work very well for panic, particularly when we can practise responding differently to sensations in real-life contexts.

Take the next step

If panic has been making you feel unsafe in your own body or shrinking your life through avoidance and fear, you don’t have to manage it alone. With the right support, panic can become something you understand and respond to differently — and your confidence can return.

Contact Hampstead Psychology to enquire about OCD therapy in London or online.

Useful links: Anxiety Therapy, Health Anxiety Therapy, Insomnia and Sleep Problems, Stress and Burnout, Depression Therapy, Fees, Meet the Team, Contact.

Urgent Help

If you are worried about immediate risk to your safety, call 999 or go to A&E. If you need urgent support but it isn’t an emergency, contact NHS 111 or your GP. You can also contact Samaritans on 116 123 (24/7).

Meet The Team

At Hampstead Psychology, all of our psychologists have extensive training to doctoral level and decades of experience in their field of expertise. You will be matched with a psychologist that has the knowledge and skill to help you understand and overcome your problem - not just in the short term but for good.