Reducing Anxiety and Panic Long-Term: How It Works
Linda Weber
Psychologist
When you search online for "What to do about panic attacks?", you'll find tips like "drink water", "call a friend", or "do breathing exercises". What many don't know: these very strategies can strengthen anxiety in the long term. They keep a cycle of avoidance, distraction, and safety behaviour going – making anxiety more persistent, not less. Here you'll find out what really helps in the long run.
How Do Panic Attacks Develop?
Psychologically speaking, anxiety develops through learning experiences: The so-called fear center links neutral stimuli with threatening feelings – a process known as classical conditioning. If, for example, you experience a panic attack on the subway or train, your brain will store this location as dangerous – even though no objective danger exists. The next time, the fear signals again to "warn" you.
This creates a cycle that traps many people in their fear of fear – also known as anticipatory anxiety.
Tip: In the programme "Mindable: Panic & Agoraphobia" you can understand how your fear center learned to link certain situations with panic – and how you can gradually change these patterns.
Why Panic and Anxiety Often Become Entrenched
The second form of learning that plays a role is operant conditioning: If you avoid or leave situations when anxiety arises, you experience short-term relief – your brain learns: Avoidance works.
The problem: Long-term, you also avoid the chance for a corrective experience – the proof that you can handle the situation even without aids.
Common behavioural patterns:
- Avoiding places (e.g., crowded trains, supermarkets, crowds)
- Using safety signals (e.g., water bottle, medication, companion)
- Leaving situations early
The more frequently you apply these behaviors, the more the anxiety structure is confirmed in the brain.
Tip: Learn more in the module "What Maintains My Anxiety?" in the Mindable: Panic & Agoraphobia programme.
The Key: Corrective Experiences Through Confrontation
A central component of cognitive behavioural therapy is confrontation exercises (also called exposure). You deliberately enter an anxiety-provoking situation and stay until the anxiety subsides on its own.
You can imagine a panic attack like a wave: It builds up, reaches its peak, and then recedes. When you learn to endure it without fleeing, your brain realizes: The situation isn't dangerous. I can handle this.
These experiences are called corrective experiences. They help break down old anxiety patterns.
Digital Support
The digital therapy programme Mindable: Panic & Agoraphobia is based on scientifically-founded principles of cognitive behavioural therapy and consists of the following modules:
- Psychoeducation: Learning lessons to better understand your anxieties and panic attacks
- Individually plannable confrontation exercises
- Anxiety diary
- Weekly symptom assessments
- Data export for doctors or therapists
The digital therapy programme is a reimbursable medical device and can be prescribed to you by doctors or psychotherapists. The costs are covered by all German statutory health insurance companies.
Mindable: Panic & Agoraphobia
Digital Help for Panic Attacks
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Note: This article is for informational purposes and does not replace medical advice.
