By: Dr. Alyson Nerenberg
So you are having a panic attack. Unfortunately you cannot think your way out of it. Your brain has already flipped into survival mode. Your heart is racing and your logical thinking brain has already taken a back seat.
The goal is not simply to calm down your brain. The goal instead is to calm your body first so that your brain can come back to functioning. As they say in the 12- Step rooms ”bring the body and the mind will follow.”
I have recently had several patients struggling with panic attacks so I decided to come up with a list of practical strategies we all can use, if we ever are in that scary situation. I call it creating a tool box. In any good tool box not all of the tools will be what you need at the moment, but it is important to have options. Please feel free to build your own tool box of specifically what tools you can see yourself using. Here are some of my favorites:
- Rub lavender lotion or another calming scent onto your hands. This can help because scent connects to the emotional center of your brain and can help you shift out of panic way faster than thoughts can. Additionally lavender has calming properties. I have actually been recently recommending lavender oil pills (Lavella) to my patients struggling with anxiety and they have found them really effective.
- Use an ice pack. If you hold a cold blast of ice on your face or neck, during a panic attack it serves as a “biological reset button” and sends immediate signals to your nervous system to lower your heart rate and shift from a “fight or flight state into a calmer more restful state. This is a scientifically backed grounding technique.
- Suck on a sour candy or try some hot sauce. The taste of something sour grabs your attention and pulls you away from your head and into your body. Spicy foods can do the same thing.
- Play with a fidget item. A fidget spinner or squeeze squishy item can give your nervous energy some place to go. This also grounds you through your sense of touch.
- Listen to your calming playlist. Have a list of songs ready that you can play to help slow your system down. The auditory sounds of your favorite mellow music can be very soothing to your nervous system.
- Put on your eye mask and ear plugs. This works best if you are home and have these items close by. The purpose of them is to reduce light and noise. The reducing of stimulation can give your brain a break.
- Chew a piece of gum. The strong flavor of gum plus the repetitive motion of chewing gives your body something to focus on and actually sends a safety signal to your brain.
- Write in your journal. I often recommend to my patients to pour out their unfiltered thoughts in a journal. When you are having a panic attack your thoughts get all tangled up. The act of journaling helps you organize the chaos as well as having a safe place to vent.
- Engage in gentle physical movement. Walking, stretching and swaying activate the body and interrupt the anxiety.
- Use your Calm App or another meditation app on your phone. If all else fails, there are apps that can help your nervous system regulate. Know that you can use them if you need some help calming your body down.
Hopefully, the use of these tools can help your body settle down. Once your breathing slows, and your heart rate drops, then you are in a better position to let your brain function effectively. At this point you can talk to yourself and say “I am not in any danger.” “This panic attack will pass.”