5 - Panic Attacks and Health Worries

Summary

Panic attacks are frightening experiences. During a panic, you experience strong physical sensations that feel very serious and threatening at the time. This can leave you fearful of having further panic attacks. This chapter outlines how to understand and beat panic attacks at this time. Pregnancy is a time of lots of physical change and lots of focus on those changes, which can be difficult if you have become worried about physical sensations. It can be difficult managing panic attacks if you are caring for young children. We guide you through the cognitive understanding of panic attacks, that they are driven by understandable but incorrect interpretations of physical sensations. We will help you to apply this theory to your individual situation, to recognise which sensations are particularly frightening, and outline experiments to target behaviours such as avoidance, focus on sensations and other factors that keep the fear going.