Psychology Today43%
Safety Objects Won't Cure Your Panic Disorder 27%
By Bonnie Zucker Ph.D.27%
7/15/2026, 1:33:33 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 29 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Pessimism Bias, and Indoctrination, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 16% saturation with 146 hits. Analysis detected 1,874 faulty-reasoning hits from 914 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.3% and a BS Rank of 27% (16,084 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 73.50% of the article peer group.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article about “panic pouches,” things that people bring with them to feel more comfortable and less anxious.
The article highlighted a few people who spoke about the different items in the panic pouch, such as fidget toys, THC gummies, lavender oil, and anti-nausea medication.
Although the article did not say that these panic pouches were meant solely to calm panic attacks, let’s discuss why these items can actually make panic disorder worse in the long run, even though they might help with a panic attack in the short term.
What Is Panic Disorder?
People who struggle with panic disorder tend to have recurring panic attacks, which are sudden rushes of intense anxiety that often reach their peak within minutes.
They are characterized by intense physical sensations such as a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and dizziness, and the person might feel like they are dying or losing their mind.
People with panic disorder tend to have high levels of anxiety sensitivity—they are fearful of symptoms of anxiety.
People with panic disorder also have panic attacks that seem to come out of the blue, and the panic attacks cause them some distress and interfere with their lives.
Many people with panic disorder also have agoraphobia, where they avoid situations they associate with panic attacks.
They might also fear doing things that trigger panic-like sensations, such as exercise or caffeine.
Carrying safety objects with you, like these “panic pouch” items, is a common behavior in people with panic disorder.
You might feel that having these items keeps you safe during a panic attack.
Anti-anxiety medications and water are common safety items that I have seen when I have treated panic disorder.
Some safety objects can be people, such as a trusted loved one who makes you feel safer.
How to Heal From Panic Disorder
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often cited as the “gold standard” for treating panic disorder, and it is one of the most effective psychological treatments for a mental health diagnosis.
CBT treatment is focused on helping you learn that you don’t need to be afraid of the attacks.
If you can do that, the attacks usually decrease in intensity and frequency.
Here are the typical components of CBT for panic:
Cognitive restructuring: This treatment component involves teaching you that your anxious thoughts about your panic attacks are not realistic.
Instead, you learn to have more balanced and usually less fearful thoughts about the panic.
Interoceptive exposures: CBT also involves retraining the brain to learn that symptoms of anxiety are not dangerous.
This aspect of the treatment is often accomplished through interoceptive exposures, in which you perform exercises designed to elicit panic symptoms.
In a systematic way, you might practice spinning in a circle, running in place, or purposely hyperventilating.
With practice, you learn that these sensations are not to be feared.
In vivo exposures: If you are avoiding anything because of panic attack fears, the therapist will work with you on developing an exposure hierarchy, where you practice breaking down feared situations and confronting them.
Reducing safety objects: If you are carrying safety objects to protect yourself or to soothe a panic attack, a cognitive behavioral therapist will work with you to eliminate them.
The Reasoning Behind Ditching Safety Objects
Why do we try to get rid of safety objects when treating panic disorder?
If the purpose of therapy is to reduce fear associated with panic attacks, carrying objects “just in case” you have a panic attack may undermine the treatment.
The goal is not to fear panic attacks and to know that if they occur, you can handle them.
If you need to bring anti-anxiety medication with you (or some other safety object) wherever you go, then you are still in the grips of panic disorder.
Think of it this way: someone who doesn’t have panic disorder doesn’t need to bring safety objects with them, just in case of having a panic attack.
You ultimately want to become more like this person in this way.
I will note that while people are practicing exposures to feared situations, one step in the hierarchy might involve going into a situation with a safety object or a safe person, and then another step up the hierarchy might involve going into that situation without the object.
My Social Media Video Reaction
I recently made a TikTok video about safety objects, and the reactions were mixed, with some strong negative comments.
A couple of people mentioned that they have had panic attacks for decades and that they need to have these things that they can take with them so they can handle their panic attacks.
Those comments proved my point: nobody should be suffering from panic disorder for decades when highly effective treatment exists!
Unfortunately, access to treatment is often limited for some.
Others have been in therapy for panic, but the therapist doesn’t really know how to adequately address the problem.
One reason why I love writing for Psychology Today is that it helps increase access to solid, evidence-based information.
I also wrote a book, Freedom From Panic: Evidence-Based Techniques to End Avoidance and Stop Panic Before It Stops You, in part to help improve access to information for people who wouldn’t otherwise get it.
So, carrying your anti-anxiety meds, water bottle, and sour candies might make you feel armed against panic, but you might just be prolonging the underlying problem.
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Analysis
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