notmynoise
Practice guide3–5 minutes4 sections

Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks

Begin step 1

Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks is a short visual guide for moments connected to panic attack.

It covers one core idea: this guide explores short mindfulness tools for moving from reaction to response and his own experience of panic.

You will slowly trace the outline of your other palm with your finger, synchronizing the rise with inhalation and the descent…, then choose what fits next.

The aim is less secondary fear and a clearer next safe action.

Edited aspractice guide·4 focused visual steps
Working edition 1Published July 22, 2026Last reviewed August 2, 2026Editorial standardsSuggest a correction
01
A person standing by a bright window, resting one hand lightly near the chest and noticing a slow breath.

Step 1 of 4

Check your starting point: Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks

When your body has already hit the alarm button and your mind is trying to catch up…

Notice what fits this situation today:

  • Specialists also need this skill
  • Multisensory anchor can collect attention
  • Remembering the actual reward motivates
  • I am not sure yet—I just want to understand
Next: This guide explores short mindfulness tools for moving from reaction to response and his own experience of panic
02
A person standing by a bright window, resting one hand lightly near the chest and noticing a slow breath.

Step 2 of 4

This guide explores short mindfulness tools for moving from reaction to response and his own experience of panic

  • this guide explores short mindfulness tools for moving from reaction to response and his own experience of panic.
  • The Five Fingers practice connects breathing, vision and tactile movement; the memory of the natural reward of a useful action maintains motivation better than compulsion.
Next: Slowly trace the outline of your other palm with your finger, synchronizing the rise with…
03
A person standing by a bright window, resting one hand lightly near the chest and noticing a slow breath.

Step 3 of 4

Slowly trace the outline of your other palm with your finger, synchronizing the rise with…

  • Pause for a few seconds. Check whether this practice feels safe enough right now.
  • Slowly trace the outline of your other palm with your finger, synchronizing the rise with inhalation and the descent with exhalation.
  • Notice what changed in your body or thoughts. Do not grade yourself—collect information.

Quick check after the practice:

  • What changed, even by 1%?
  • What stayed the same?
  • What do you need now: continue, stop, or ask someone for support?
Next: Choose a next step: Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks
04
A person standing by a bright window, resting one hand lightly near the chest and noticing a slow breath.

Step 4 of 4

Choose a next step: Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks

You do not have to resolve this whole situation today. You worked directly with “Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks” and chose one possible response.

Choose what fits now:

  • “Save one next step”
  • “Come back later”
  • “I need support from a person”

After this guide

Keep the next step small.

Less secondary fear and a clearer next safe action.

Back to Panic and Body AlarmChoose another topic

Where to go next

Choose the next useful idea

Choose one if it fits what you need now.

Sources & evidence

Where this guide comes from

The book is the editorial starting point. The research below checks or qualifies the broader ideas used in this guide.

Adapted from

Unwinding Anxiety

New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind

Chapter 21, “Even Doctors Get Panic Attacks” · source pages 213–223

View publisher record (opens in a new tab)
Written by
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (opens in a new tab)Addiction psychiatrist and neuroscientist; Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University; Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown.
Edition used
Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2021 · ISBN 9780593421406
Formal review
The trade-book edition does not identify a formal peer-review or clinical-review panel. Endorsements from clinicians are recorded separately.
Public endorsements — not formal review

Daniel J. Siegel, MD (opens in a new tab) — Physician and author; Mark Williams (opens in a new tab) — Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford

Editorial limitations of this book source
  • The book draws on the author's clinical work and research but is not itself a peer-reviewed treatment protocol.
  • The principal app trial was small and involved investigators connected to the product; results require independent replication.
  • Internal-attention practices can intensify symptoms for some people with panic, trauma, or dissociation.
  • New or concerning physical symptoms must not automatically be attributed to anxiety.

Research context

Supporting and qualifying references

Reviewed 2026-08-04

  1. 01

    Randomized Controlled Trial · 2021

    Clinical Efficacy and Psychological Mechanisms of an App-Based Digital Therapeutic for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (opens in a new tab)

    Alexandra Roy, Elizabeth A. Hoge, Pablo Abrante, Susan Druker, Tao Liu, Judson A. Brewer · Journal of Medical Internet Research · DOI 10.2196/26987

    What it supports: A small randomized trial found benefit from the full Unwinding Anxiety app added to treatment as usual for adults with GAD.

    Limits and disclosures

    Limit: Sixty-five randomized participants, treatment-as-usual control, self-report outcomes, incomplete program completion, and need for independent replication; it does not validate each book chapter or NotMyNoise adaptation.

    Disclosure: Judson Brewer is the book author and was connected to development/commercialization of the studied program; treat as product-linked evidence.

  2. 02

    Peer Reviewed Meta Analysis · 2025

    Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: A Meta-Analytic Review of Clinical Components to Maximize Efficacy (opens in a new tab)

    H. W. Jung, K. W. Jang, S. Nam, A. Kim, J. Lee, M. E. Ahn, S.-K. Lee, Y. J. Kim, J.-K. Shin, D. Roh · Journal of Clinical Medicine · DOI 10.3390/jcm14051771

    What it supports: Digital CBT for panic/agoraphobia showed benefit versus passive controls; interoceptive exposure was an important component.

    Limits and disclosures

    Limit: Many included studies had therapist and attrition bias; a brief breathing or grounding screen is not equivalent to CBT.

    Disclosure: Authors declared no conflicts of interest.

  3. 03

    Systematic Review · 2018

    How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing (opens in a new tab)

    Andrea Zaccaro, Andrea Piarulli, Marco Laurino, et al. · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353

    What it supports: Slow breathing is associated with autonomic and central nervous system changes relevant to arousal regulation.

    Limits and disclosures

    Limit: Heterogeneous methods and outcomes; breathing exercises are not a universal treatment and can feel uncomfortable for some people.

    Disclosure: No product-specific conflict identified.