Psychological Support for POTS
Support for living with a physical condition that can be difficult for others to understand.
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, can affect your ability to stand, work, socialize, or follow a familiar routine. You may also be dealing with the frustration of symptoms being mistaken for anxiety.
Therapy provides space to discuss the emotional effects of living with POTS without treating the condition as a psychological problem. Your medical care and physical limits remain part of the conversation.
Book a Complimentary ConsultationBased in Miami, with telehealth available across 40+ PSYPACT states.
Your experience
Unpredictable energy can make ordinary plans complicated.
You may be adjusting expectations, explaining why an activity is difficult, or feeling uncertain about work and independence. Counseling can help you talk about these changes and identify support that fits your circumstances.
You may recognize some of these concerns and not others. What matters is how your own experience is affecting you and what you would like help with.
Changing capacity
What is manageable one day may feel different the next.
Being misunderstood
Others may confuse physical symptoms with anxiety.
Loss and adjustment
Changes in independence or routines can bring complicated feelings.
Understanding your care
Your experience deserves careful attention.
POTS is a physical disorder involving the body’s response to being upright. It is not caused by anxiety. Psychological care can address related distress or coexisting anxiety and depression while medical providers manage POTS.
At Embody Health Psychology, our clinical health psychology perspective considers physical health, emotions, relationships, and daily life together. That biopsychosocial perspective helps us understand your concerns without reducing them to a single cause.
An Integrative Approach
Our integrative approach considers how physical health, emotional experiences, relationships, and daily life influence one another. We draw from different psychological approaches to shape care around your concerns and goals.
We consider symptoms, treatment recommendations, mood, relationships, and everyday demands together. Therapy should work within your medical limits rather than assume that fear is the reason an activity is difficult.
You do not need to arrive with a perfect explanation. Your clinician will ask questions, discuss treatment options, and help you choose goals that fit.
Depending on your needs, somatic therapy techniques may involve gentle grounding or noticing tension in a comfortable position. We adapt to dizziness and fatigue, and do not ask you to override symptoms or follow a fixed breathing exercise.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) may help with the conflict between wanting independence and needing support. These approaches address coping and adjustment, not the autonomic disorder itself.
Your goals may include:
Processing the experience of illness
Discuss uncertainty, frustration, and changes in independence.
Communicating limits
Practice asking for support without having to justify every symptom.
Addressing coexisting distress
Work on worry or low mood when those concerns are present.
Addressing related distress
Discuss anxiety, low mood, or other concerns when they are part of your experience.
Finding a useful pace
Set priorities that fit your clinical needs and current circumstances.
Choosing next steps together
Review what is helpful and whether other care or support is needed.
Common questions
What you may want to know.
Is POTS a form of anxiety?
No. POTS is a physiological condition. Anxiety can occur alongside it, but treating anxiety does not replace POTS care.
Will therapy ask me to push through physical limits?
Your medical guidance matters. Therapy goals should take those recommendations and your clinical situation into account.
How does coordination with other providers work?
When coordination would be helpful, your clinician can discuss it with you. Sharing confidential clinical information requires appropriate authorization. Together, you can decide what is relevant to share.
Is telehealth available?
Embody Health Psychology is based in Miami, with telehealth available across 40+ PSYPACT states through appropriately authorized psychologists. Availability depends on the clinician, your location, and the service. Confirm the fit during your consultation.
A place to begin
Let’s Talk About What You Need
If you are considering therapy, a complimentary consultation gives you a chance to share what you are looking for, ask questions, and discuss whether our services may be a fit.
Book a Complimentary Consultation15-minute phone consultation