Health 

1) first go to https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists and filter local therapists by whether they participate in your insurance plan, issue, and whatever else is important to you (sex, therapy style, LGBTQ focused, etc).

2) Once you find a list, I would then go to your insurance site and you'll be able to find a directory of covered therapists. Even though the therapist listed the insurance on Psychology Today, that might be outdated info or inaccurate or whatever. So cross reference the list of therapists you picked out from Psychology Today with the insurance company's list.

3) Of those that participate in your insurance plan, start reaching out to some from their Psychology Today profile. Many you can email straight from that profile page. Others you will need to call.

4) They'll then let you know if they are accepting new patients and if they participate in your plan. Many don't accept insurance (way too much paperwork on their part). Don't give up! You'll probably have to reach out to multiple before you get one that can see you and then after the initial appointment (which is basically a meet and greet), you decide whether you feel comfortable talking with this person or if you want to try another.
 
we caution very severely against relying on what the provider says. Call the insurance. Ask. That way you get the call recorded.

amongst over 1.2M people in the USA between 2011-2015, people who exercised had about 40% better mental health than people who didn't exercise, even after we controlled for a whole bunch of things including BMI, physical health, and sociodemographics

But sometimes it's important to learn how to accept the feelings rather than try to avoid them. There are a few psychotherapies that can help with this, such as ACT or EMDR, which can be powerful. DBT, another type of of therapy, can also help with increasing distress tolerance, which is what happens when you continue to ruminate about situation. Mindfulness training and Mindfulness-Based CBT (a form of therapy) can help you to recognize the ruminating thoughts but not engage in them (which is where the looping happens).

Therapy can certainly help and be sure to find a therapist that uses Mindfulness-Based CBT, ACT, EMDR, DBT, or has a lot of good training with anxiety.

It's true! There are actually a few more responses, but we hardly ever talk about them.

In addition to Fight / Flight, there is also Freeze, Fall Asleep, and Have Fun.

Kids tend to freeze a lot. Think of when you ask a kid if they did something or you tell a teen to get up and move. Sometimes they look like deer in headlights. Other times they simply don't move. It's not always that they're being ornery or defiant; sometimes it's simply that their defense mechanism kicked in an they froze--particularly if they were just about to get in trouble for something; the stress of that can be too much, leading to freezing.

Have you ever laughed in a really stressful situation? Sometimes you might see nurses or EMTs laughing during a crisis. It's not that you or they are being insensitive; it's another defense mechanism that kicks in to help you manage the stress of the situation.

And sleeping: I always think of opossums who play dead. Teens tend to do this a lot and it's something that parents or teachers complain about because they seem to feign being asleep during class, and in reality, they might have fallen asleep because what was going on was too much to handle.

It's a good idea to know about all of these because sometimes what we think might be inappropriate or wrong is simply the body's way of protecting a person during an overwhelming moment.

Identify some the triggers that lead to the anxiety attack, and then develop a plan ahead of time, it can really help to manage and lessen the full attack.

Sometimes noises, smells, or just the general overwhelm of a classroom can be too much, so you might consider ways that she could "check out" in order to "check back in," such as listening to a calming song with headphones, moving to the back of the classroom, or taking out a sheet of paper and writing or drawing.

You might also rehearse a signal she can use with you about when she becomes too overwhelmed so that you'll know she's going to implement the plan you've developed.

With anxiety, the body actually dysregulates--becomes hyperaroused (which is anxiety, but can also be outbursts, anger, overwhelm) or hypoaroused (disconnected, on auto pilot, shut down, flat, frozen), it's important to try to bring it back to homeostasis. You can do this by having her do some calming breaths, moving her body through stretching, do some grounding techniques, or even take a drink of water of a small snack. Some these things might be good to build into a plan for when she feels she is being triggered.

Perhaps, too, the school counselor can help you brainstorm some specific strategies that will work in your school system.

Unfortunately, avoidance feeds anxiety and makes it worse.

The scary solution for anxiety such as this is facing the fear and actually moving through it. But you'll need a lot of support to do that because you'll first need to learn different types of relaxation and calming skills to manage the flood of body sensations and fear that will come as you begin to confront this head on.

Unlike when you go swimming in a cold pond or lake and jump right in, it's not a good idea to treat anxiety like that. It's much better to wade in with a guide that can help you if it gets too overwhelming or too much.

Therapists are the guides in this situation and a good therapist training in anxiety and stress-related disorders can really make a difference as you go forward.

Every hero has a guide (think Luke and Yoda), so don't be afraid to find your own. With good support and a good plan, your baby steps will definitely pay off.