If you struggle with anxiety, panic attacks or just jumpy nerves, CBT can almost certainly help. If you are worried about unpleasant symptoms of anxiety like: panic attack with jelly legs, panic attack with vertigo, panic attack with feeling unreal, panic attacks and derealization or panic attack induced depersonalization…CBT will help. CBT stands for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured way of working with a therapist to explore the unhelpful thought processes that can lead to anxiety, unnecessary stress – and even mental health problems.
Although this site focuses mainly on one particular form of anxiety: panic attacks, Cognitive and behavioural therapy is most studied and truly evidence based form of psychotherapy for most anxiety disorders and depression and issues like low self esteem. CBT Fast can help you with any of these issues.
CBT works by helping you to realize that it is often not the situation that causes painful feelings, like panic attacks, but your interpretation of the situation – and the way that interpretation may make you respond. A very simple example: if you suddenly experience intense anxiety attack with feelings of vertigo or feeling dizzy and legs going jelly – while you are in a shop, what do you think you will fear? Well, you may fear that feeling dizzy or vertigo means that you will faint, collapse or loose consciousness. Jelly legs certainly feels unpleasant and frightening if accompanied by those other symptoms You then start avoiding such shops – in order not to collapse or at least not to experience the panic attack and those symptoms anymore. You also start focusing on feared symptoms. You are vigilant. Whenever you notice that you feel a bit dizzy or vertigo or legs going jelly you immediately think: “it happens all over again” “I am in danger” “I must do something, otherwise I will collapse”…and so the fear starts to follow you wherever you go. Fear builds more fear. You start having recurrent panic attacks. Or at least you fear that you may have a panic attack…
However, it may be (and usually is) that the original panic attack with those symptoms was just that – a panic attack as a consequence of high anxiety, but not dangerous at all (albeit of course very unpleasant). Jelly legs did NOT mean that you were going to collapse although you thought so. Feeling dizzy did NOT mean that you were just about to faint although you were very afraid and sure it will happen. Feeling vertigo did NOT mean that you were going to loose control and perhaps collapse and loose consciousness…But these are of course very real FEELINGS and FEARS. There is huge amount of scientific evidence to prove that by changing the way that you perceive something (the way you think), or changing how you respond (what you do – behavior), you may ultimately change the way that you feel. CBT is all about change. It is not about talking, CBT means making real changes. CBT is also so called short therapy. The aim is not to go on in therapy for years. A course to get rid of fear of panic attacks or other anxiety typically involves between 4 and 8 sessions, which can last for either 30 or 60 minutes depending on individual needs.
CBT Fast was established by me, Ari Saario. I am an accredited and experienced Cognitive and Behavioral therapist. I used to work full time for National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. I have treated people with all kinds of anxiety issues. Panic disorder, panic attacks, depersonalization, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder among others. I still work for NHS part time, but now I mainly focus on my own practice. I offer CBT – fast. I want to help people to realize that they can get rid of unnecessary anxiety, and that it can happen fast. I want to help people to learn that panic attacks and anxiety are not a disability, it can be changed. People need to learn what is a key descriptor of a panic attack, how and why feeling unreal, depersonalisation and derealization may be linked – and cured. And so on. I give therapy online, using Skype and other video based face to face channels. I also wrote an eBook about panic disorder and panic attacks, and how to get rid of them. I created a course – based on CBT, my own experiences and what my patients have told me. This course is a full CBT course for panic, and you get all the answers – well not all, but most of them, an if you follow the step by step model you can end your unnecessary anxiety and panic. Or if you need more support, or struggle with another form of anxiety, like obsessive compulsive disorder, you can book one to one therapy – online.
The whole idea of CBT Fast was to offer professional, evidence based Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy – fast and easy. You don’t have to leave your home or office for therapy – and yet you can still have access to the therapist.
CBT Fast is not only treating people with panic attacks. We treat people with all kinds of anxiety issues including:
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
Social Phobia
Health Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Specific Phobias, like spider phobia, far of heights, fear of driving…
We also treat people with
Depression
Low self esteem
Work related stress and anxiety
The main focus is on change. The change you want. We set goals for you -collaboratively- and we work together to achieve the goals – in a relatively short period of time, usually within some weeks.
You may not suffer from panic disorder. And you may not experience panic attacks. But you may avoid a lot of situations or places where you feel anxious. And you may be particularly worried about certain symptoms of anxiety. Or you may be worried about showing some symptoms of anxiety. This fear is particularly true with people who struggle with social anxiety. These symptoms may include:
panic attack with (urge for) urination
panic attack with slurred speech
panic attack with unsteady legs
panic attack with blushing
panic attack with (fear of) passing out
panic attack with difficulty swallowing
panic attack with difficulty concentrating
panic attack with not being able to talk
and so on. It is understandable that any of these symptoms can be unpleasant and frightening on their own. But they would be especially unpleasant if they happen in a public place – or in other words in a social situation. Thus, a panic attack would be particularly unwanted and unpleasant for someone with social anxiety. In this kind of situation a mere work n panic attack might not be enough to rid someone fully of their fear. That’s why CBT Fast offers also face to face therapy.
But, if your main issue is panic attacks and/or fear of them, it may well be, that all you need is the simple self help course. It costs only $17. And it covers the main cognitive and behavioral approaches and techniques to kill that panic.
CBT Fast provides the level of help you need to get rid of the problem.