4 Ways to Stop a Panic Attack in the Moment
Panic attacks can come out of nowhere, am I right? Or at least they may seem that way because of the intensity they arise with. Chances are if you experience panic attacks there is something out of balance in your life. Might be a good time to start therapy. Just sayin’.
Panic attacks can be hard to manage because of the brain chemistry behind the attack. Often, it can be hard to reach for coping strategies in the moment because before we know it we are in our amygdala (emotional center of the brain) and it is hard for us to grasp onto higher levels of thinking (pre-frontal cortex.) These strategies are intended to ground you and move you from your limbic system back to your frontal lobe. It is so important to PRACTICE these before it happens so you can REMEMBER you have strategies in your pocket. If you don’t practice it is unlikely that you can reach for one of these tools during the mayhem of a panic attack. So pick one and practice it for a few weeks and then try another, these also can be tools to combat everyday stress so you will just be strengthening your arsenal of stress-reducing strategies.
Use your breath.
This is one of the greatest resources when trying to regulate yourself. And we can use this simply throughout the day as well. But when it comes to a panic attack try deep belly breathing. By breathing deeply into your belly, you can relax your vagus nerve (the largest nerve in the central nervous system) to immediately support yourself to ground. Read about the vagus nerve here.
Or you can try this Box Breathing technique (click here.)
Stop and Drop.
Lay face down on the ground. Literally laying facedown on the floor can support your system to relax. Again, focus on your breath and let your belly expand into the floor. Feel what it is like to be supported by the ground beneath you.
TIP SKILL
(from Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
This set of skills activates the diving reflex where you change your slow your heart rate, and send more oxygen to your brain and heart, an innate survival technique.
Temperature: Drop your body temp with ice and cold water. (TAKE A COLD SHOWER)
Intense Exercise: Run around the block fast
Paced Breathing and Muscle Relaxation (Square breathe, then with nose, then with eyes)
TRE (Trauma Release Exercise)
Anxiety = Energy
By practicing a trauma release exercise you can give the anxiety somewhere to go and help your body sequence the physiological response.
With the TRE, the exercise evokes the psoas muscles, a major set of muscles that hold the body’s physical, emotional, and psychological stress. By doing these exercises, you can support yourself to release trauma held in your cells. This video shows how a veteran uses TRE to recover from war trauma. Learn more about TRE here.
If you want support on practicing these or want to hear more about the process of therapy, I would love to hear from you.