Let's talk about anxiety...

May 2021

Yes, let’s talk about my loyal companion of the pandemic, anxiety, specifically panic attacks.. Panic attacks are one of the most severe forms of anxiety. They are scary and can lead to Agoraphobia, in which you fear and avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped. This fear can be so overwhelming that you may feel unable to leave your home for days, weeks, or even years. I am lucky. I have never had an actual panic attack, but my mother suffered from them and rarely left the house for decades. They can include shortness of breath, chest pain, stomach pain, excessive sweatiness, shakiness that can look like a seizure, lightheadedness, disorientation, and other symptoms. My mom called 911 more than once thinking she was having a heart attack. Panic attacks are a pretty common reason for ER visits. So yes, mental health shows up in the body. As much as Neuro Blooms focuses on the brain, these conditions are total body experiences. Below are good tips for managing panic attacks from the Instagram page of Mental Health America, an awesome organization with helpful information and resources:

If you’ve ever experienced acute anxiety, you know how frightening panic attacks can be. Your body is responding in “fight-or-flight” mode to a threat that either doesn’t exist or one that doesn’t merit as extreme a reaction. They happen unexpectedly, even when you feel at ease.⠀
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When an attack is occurring, there are a few things you can try to help get through it.⠀
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1) Remember that it will end and go ahead and have a panic attack. If you’ve had a panic attack before, you know that it feels horrible and that the worse of it comes to an end – eventually. The more we fight the panic, the more it can extend the horrible feeling and make panic worse. For some people giving yourself the space to say, “Ok, here it comes, I’m not running away and freaking the f$#% out” is just enough time to let you breathe and work through the experiences.⠀
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2) Breathe slowly and deeply. Breathing takes practice. You’ll probably struggle because your body is used to freaking out and hyperventilating. Gaining control over anxiety and panic is retraining our body and brain to have better responses. You can breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth, pursing your lips so it makes a noise as you breathe out, and see if your stomach rises. You can also try counting – as you breathe in and out. 3 seconds in, 5 or 6 seconds out.⠀
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3) Talk to yourself. Talk out loud if you need to. Tell yourself what you need to hear to feel better. Remind yourself that you are not going to die. Sing a song, describe what’s around you. Practice a grounding technique where you focus on your environment and not where your panic brain wants to go.⠀
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4) Reach out. When things are calm reach out to others who can support you. It’s good to vent, find others who share your experiences, who can help you feel less alone, and encourage you to keep going when what you want to do is run away.⠀
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In the end – do whatever works, but don’t make it an option to do nothing.