Its OK to Panic...It will Pass

About 1 in 3 of us will experience a panic attack at some point in our life. 

A panic attack is the experience of sudden anxiety felt in the body as extreme physical sensation, either in response to stress or can come on without warning.

Along with feeling fearful, you may also notice increased heart rate, over breathing due to shortness of breath, dizzy, shaking, muscle tension, out of touch with your surroundings and sometimes it is so intense that you may worry you are dying.

 Our minds are very suggestible and that can work for or against us. The more you freak out and interpret the physical sensations as harmful, the more intense your experience will be.

Most panic attacks are over in 5 to 10 minutes. Working on slowing down your breathing rate and telling yourself that you are going to be ok will reduce the intensity. While it is an uncomfortable sensation, it will pass.

 During major life transitions such as becoming a parent, the stress of it all can set off panic for the first time.     

Having a plan of action will help stop the panic. 

·      Slowing down your breath is key to changing your body chemistry back to calm. You can do this with paced breathing where you count the in breath for 4, hold for 2 and breath out for 6. 

·      Rinse your face with cold water and set off an automatic drop in heart rate and level calmness by 20%

·      Plant your feet firmly on the ground and name 5 things you can see to halt the panic in its tracks

·      Find a quiet to go to remove the fear your embarrassing yourself

·       Have a drink of water as the action gives you something to do and panic is dehydrating    

·      Name the emotion as anxiety and resist the urge to fight it or chastise yourself as it will only delay you getting a handle on it

Afterwards it may be useful to review what was happening leading up to the panic response. Putting pressure on ourselves through making unfair judgments primes us for stressful reactions.

 Next time ill talk about ways to incorporate mindfulness into your busy schedule to get better at noticing when you have drifted into autopilot where we focus on the future missing out on the present moment.