Panic Attacks are just rude.
Do you experience these, too?
Anxiety. Fear. Stress. It’s the driving force behind most of these events.
I have suffered from panic attacks my entire adult life, only I didn’t realize that’s what it was .. for years! Sure, if you look at my life on paper, it makes sense for why I’d be struggling to deal with stressful situations. Teen pregnancy, young marriage, divorced and remarried before 30, blended families, new babies after a LONG gap, two more divorces before 40, being let go from two jobs in less than a year as a single mom.
I’m sure y’all get it. Life can be hard.
But why does anxiety react in our bodies to the point that we question if we might actually die? Talk about a dramatic way to get our attention.
For me, my panic attacks usually are a wake up call to fears I have been avoiding. Only for me, it shows up as my heart beating in all the ways that are not fucking normal.
I’ve learned after:
multiple trips to the ER
many doctor visits (including various types of cardiologists)
seeing a chiropractor
regular appointments with my massage therapist
working with an energy healer
… that my heart is just fine. As in, it is not unhealthy in the least. I am not at risk of a heart attack, but these panic attacks have generated such fear in the past that all of that knowledge, reason and logic flies out the window in the moment of my heart beating so fast and so hard that I feel like I’ve just ran a marathon.
For the record, I have never done this. I have no idea what it feels like to run a marathon or how fast my heart-rate would be. I’m just going to guess it’s pretty similar to the speed that has sent me to the ER on more than one occasion.
So, I’ve found some things that work really well for me when anxiety is screaming at me. It’s been lots of trial and error. What works one day doesn’t always work the next, but in the event it may be helpful to you, I’m sharing some lessons learned.
3 ways to soothe a panic attack…
Meditation
Generally, meditation is my go to for its calming nature, but in the heat of a panic attack, I can’t typically guide myself. Panic isn’t linear or logical, so I can’t talk myself out of it. It’s all energetic and emotions, so I usually need something to help me not think about it.
This is simply not a time when affirmations or positive self talk is enough to calm the physical response to fear that my body is having.
Sometimes, peaceful music or binaural beats are enough, but I recently discovered a guided meditation on Insight Timer for Panic Attacks and this is PURE MAGIC.
There have been times in my life when an attack has lasted on and off again for hours. In less than 12 minutes, this man’s voice gets my body out of freak out mode - every single time I’ve used it.
Breath-work
Initially, when I first started having panic attacks, I could simply lie down flat on my back and slow my breathing and it would slow my speeding heart-rate in a matter of minutes. This became less effective as time went on, but depending on the level of stress, it does still work at times.
The guided meditation I suggested is teaches you a very specific way to breathe, but in the midst of a full blown panic attack, I have been better at following directions than remembering how to breathe on my own.
Go figure.
Get physical
First, changing your location can sometimes be enough to break the emotional response to whatever has triggered a panic attack. Exercise, in general, has been proven to reduce anxiety and help prevent future panic attacks. Sometimes, it can be as simple as: Move Your Ass!
And then. Other times, it’s not.
Bringing your awareness to your physical experience can also be very helpful. Fear and stress can be a bit illogical at times, so forcing your mind to focus on what you are physically sensing can be an excellent way to break out of the chaos of a panic attack.
Pay attention and say out loud what you notice about your five senses. What do you see, here, smell, taste, and touch?
Now, once you’ve managed the actual event of a panic attack and found the soothing that your body needs in the moment, it’s time to get to work on resolving the underlying issue that’s causing them. Panic attacks aren’t something we need to learn to accept as normal, but they are super common. In fact, according to these stats, 1 million Americans experience panic attacks each month. The good news, though, is that 70-90% of patients are helped significantly by seeking treatment. Oftentimes, treatment can be as simple as talk therapy.
Key takeaway - you are not alone if you experience panic attacks. You just might need a little help.
Also, it should go without saying, but I am not a trained medical professional.
For any heart ailments such as the ones I’ve described should always be reviewed by your doctor to rule out actual life threatening problems.
Latest information from the CDC says: Despite increases in awareness over the past decades, only about half (56%) of women recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 299,578 women in 2017—or about 1 in every 5 female deaths.2
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American and white women in the United States. Among American Indian and Alaska Native women, heart disease and cancer cause roughly the same number of deaths each year. For Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander women, heart disease is second only to cancer as a cause of death.3
About 1 in 16 women age 20 and older (6.2%) have coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease:4
About 1 in 16 white women (6.1%), black women (6.5%), and Hispanic women (6%)
About 1 in 30 Asian women (3.2%)