Panic Attack Talk-Through

Panic Attack Talk-Through: Welcoming your Symptoms with Curiosity to Diffuse Anxiety Fast. A panic attack is one of the scariest things a human can endure. After suffering from them for over two decades, Dr. Alex shares her multi-approach method for diffusing panic attacks quickly and compassionately, while re-wiring the brain to prevent them in the future.

Transcript

Hello dear one.

I am so glad that you're here.

I know how scary anxiety and panic are.

I've personally suffered from dissociative panic attacks for over two decades.

Let me tell you first off that unfortunately anxiety and panic don't reason with logic.

So I'm not here to rationalize your symptoms,

Though they are all explainable.

Rather I am here to accompany you while you move closer to your panic with curiosity and compassion to diffuse these uncomfortable sensations more quickly.

You cannot outrun anxiety and the more we try to do that the longer we perpetuate the cycle because we are reaffirming to our brains that there is in fact something to be fearful of which continues to trigger our fight-or-flight response.

And while this may feel counterintuitive,

If we can become curious about our anxiety and even begin to welcome it,

This sends signals of safety to our brain and kicks us out of fight-or-flight resulting in our anxiety diffusing more quickly.

And so together we are going to bravely begin to welcome these sensations into our body.

I am going to be right here with you until you feel better and I promise that you will feel better very soon.

So first we are going to become curious about the anxiety or panic.

I am going to ask you to focus on the most overwhelming sensation in the body,

Hard as that may be.

Maybe it's a rapid heart rate or constriction in the chest.

Perhaps your throat feels tight or you feel like you can't get air.

Are you trembling,

Shaking or feeling numb?

You can focus your awareness on those sensations.

Maybe your racing thoughts are where you choose to put your attention.

As scary as this sounds,

I want you to trust me.

Say to yourself out loud,

What is this?

What is this?

We aren't an expectation of an answer,

Though if one comes,

Wonderful.

We are simply embodying curiosity here.

What is this?

How would you describe this sensation?

Does it have a color,

A shape,

A sound?

What is this?

By becoming curious about these sensations in the body,

We are redefining them as what they truly are,

Simply sensation.

What is this?

And now if this becomes too overwhelming for you at any point,

You can shift your awareness temporarily to a place in your body that's not experiencing symptoms of panic.

Maybe that's between your toes.

You can rest in the awareness of this less intense place for a while before shifting back to the more difficult and overwhelming place.

What is this?

Staying curious here about these symptoms and feeling them whole-heartedly.

What is this?

Now in doing this,

You may already feel calmer.

Maybe you don't.

Either way is perfectly fine.

Your body will process this panic attack in its own time.

Regardless of where your symptoms are at,

And this is going to require your bravery and trust,

I want you to welcome more sensation into your body.

If your heart is racing,

I want you to ask it to race faster.

If your chest is tight,

Ask for more constriction.

Bring on more body shakes,

More numbness,

More crazy thoughts.

Yell out loud,

Bring it on.

I want to see the worst you can do.

Is this all you've got?

I want more.

Stay in this space of welcoming the symptoms and encouraging them to worsen.

I'm right here with you and you have got this.

Encouraging your body to bring it on.

When your body gives you more,

I want you to ask for even more intensity.

Bring on the worst that you can do.

I want more.

So,

So good.

That was so brave.

My hope is that you are feeling better and that the anxiety has started to diffuse.

And if it hasn't,

That's okay.

This method takes practice and it is very counterintuitive.

You can rest assured that each time you practice this,

You are creating new neural pathways in the brain to diffuse panic attacks more effectively in the future and to even prevent them entirely.

And now because adrenaline can take some time to exit the body,

You likely still have some symptoms and discomfort.

So let's get up and move our bodies to help circulate the adrenaline more quickly and as a welcome distraction after the hard work you put in.

Regardless of how you're feeling,

Stand up and shake your body.

You can dance,

Do jumping jacks,

Or just shake up and down.

Good.

The more you move,

The faster the adrenaline will circulate.

Now if you're still anxious,

Movement might feel really counterintuitive,

But it is actually a wonderful cognitive behavioral tool to show ourselves that the body is totally capable of an even faster heart rate,

Faster breathing,

More feelings of heat by using movement during a panic attack.

You are building trust in your body and sending signals of safety to the brain by fully embodying movement right here,

Right now.

So keep moving your body.

Know that you are coursing that adrenaline more quickly through your body so that these symptoms can diffuse even more quickly.

Feel free to pause this audio if you want some more time to shake your body out.

I encourage you to keep doing this for as long as it feels good.

You did so well.

Now that you've worked up a sweat and elevated your heart rate,

I want us to breathe together to shift our bodies into a parasympathetic state.

You may sit or lie down for this.

Research shows that providing gentle touch to the chest while deep breathing can release oxytocin,

Which provides a sense of safety.

So perhaps you want to give that a go.

Begin by inhaling through the nose to the count of two.

So inhale one,

Two,

And exhale out your mouth to the count of four.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale through the nose.

One,

Two.

Exhale through the mouth.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Good.

Continue at this cadence just a few more times.

Exhaling for longer than inhaling will naturally kick your body into a parasympathetic state.

If the mind wanders or you're focusing on the fear surrounding the lingering anxiety symptoms,

That's okay.

Just come back to the breath the best you can and focus your awareness on the sensations of the inhale and the exhale.

So,

So good.

You can continue to breathe like this as long as you'd like.

Again,

Feel free to pause the audio.

You can even begin to extend your inhale to three seconds and your exhale to six,

But that's not at all necessary.

Now I will sit here with you while you continue to breathe for just a little while longer.

I am right here with you.

So good.

My deepest hope for you is that you are feeling better.

If you are,

I'm so happy for you.

And if you aren't,

It's perfectly okay.

Don't be discouraged and please continue to practice in this way.

For those of you who are still feeling panicked,

Let's do a couple more quick exercises.

I want you to identify and say aloud three things that you see.

This can be anything.

Identify and say aloud just three things that you see.

And what color are they?

Say the color aloud.

Now label something that you can hear and describe it in detail aloud to yourself.

Maybe you hear cars passing by or there's an air vent in your room.

Whatever it is,

Say it aloud and describe it in the most detail that you can.

Good.

Is there something you smell?

If so,

What is it?

And can you think of a memory that this scent reminds you of?

And continue to label your senses as they show up for you right now for as long as you need to shift your awareness away from your fears about your body and into the present.

Maybe there's something around that you can touch.

Tactile feedback can be an extremely useful tool for bringing the distraction provides temporary symptom relief from your anxiety.

You can take that as proof that nothing is actually wrong with your health or your body.

If it were,

Trust me,

Labeling your senses would not make those sensations any less intense.

Now one last exercise if you're still feeling panic.

I want you to splash cold water from any source onto your face.

And now I encourage you to actually plunge your face into a bowl of ice water or to hold an ice pack to your face if you can tolerate it.

Otherwise,

Simply splash the coldest water possible onto your face.

You can pause the audio while you go do that.

Now this works by triggering the dive reflex,

Which activates the parasympathetic nervous system to slow your heart rate and breathing and also stimulates the vagus nerve to calm your body's stress response.

The cold sensation also helps ground us into the present moment,

Shifting focus away from anxious thoughts.

I know this can be really intense and overwhelming,

But I definitely encourage you to go forward with it.

So good.

I am confident that by now you are feeling much better.

And if you're not,

It's still okay.

You can repeat this recording as much as you need or just take bits and pieces that work for you until your symptoms diffuse.

I encourage you to keep practicing in this way.

And as soon as panic strikes,

Immediately become curious about it and welcome it in.

This will rewire your brain to no longer fear these sensations so that if and when they arise,

Your body perceives them for what they truly are.

Simply sensation.

I am passionate about helping people with panic disorder.

So if you have any questions or need additional support,

I welcome any and all comments on this meditation and I will respond to them promptly.

I am so proud of you and I am here for you.

Thank you for allowing me to guide and support you.

Until next time.

Namaste.

Reviews

Being someone who deals with intense anxiety is so disheartening sometimes. Thank you so much for this 😭😭😭❤