Panic Attacks: What they are and how breathing can help - Part 1
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes
Have you ever experienced a panic attack?
If so, you are not alone. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, approximately one out of every three people will experience a panic attack at some point in their lives. [1]
Some of these people will end up experiencing repeated panic attacks and may develop Panic Disorder, but that is not always the case. Panic attacks can be single incidents or may reoccur on occasion. Regardless, as everyone’s stress levels and rates of anxiety have increased significantly over the last several years, we should educate ourselves about them. If not for yourself, then for the good of a friend or family member.
This is especially true with what the world is going through right now, on top of our already hectic routines at work, impossible deadlines, daily family struggles, and increasing health issues.
Stress has definitely become a prevalent part of everyone’s life - at all ages. Even our youngsters are dealing with more and more stress than ever before.
For some, stress and anxiety become so severe that they end up having a panic attack. If you’ve ever experienced one, you know how frightening and debilitating such an attack can be.
This week, in part 1 of this mini-series, do yourself or someone you love a favour and become more familiar with panic attacks - what they are and what they can look (and feel) like. We’ll also provide you with three different yet effective breathing techniques you can try the next time you find yourself under extreme stress or in the midst of a panic attack.
What is a panic attack?
A panic attack is a manifestation of extreme stress and anxiety. It can manifest itself physically and psychologically and be detrimental to both body and mind.
Panic attacks are usually unpredictable and sudden, creating intense feelings of discomfort or fear. Though they are generally triggered by a stressful event or an accumulation of stressors, they can happen at any time and may appear to be triggered by nothing at all. [2]
According to Anxiety Canada, a panic attack consists of 4 or more of the following symptoms or sensations:
Heart palpitations or an accelerated heart rate
Sweating
Shaking or trembling
The sensation of feeling smothered
Shortness of breath, shallow breathing, or a feeling of being unable to take a full breath
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea or stomach cramps
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Numbness or tingling sensations
Tightness in your throat or a feeling of choking
Hot flashes or chills
Feeling like you are not present in your body (depersonalization)
Fear of losing control
A sense of impending doom or fear of dying
As you can imagine, the sudden onset of any one of these can be frightening, to say the least. And once they appear, symptoms typically reach maximum intensity within a few minutes.
It can be a challenge to control yourself and try to calm yourself down while you are in the midst of an attack. However, suppose you understand what you are experiencing and are armed with the right strategies to help. In that case, you can effectively calm your nervous system, ground yourself, and manage stressful situations with more ease and less chance of having an emotional breakdown.
The following are three simple yet effective breathing techniques that you can try. Each one of them is designed to help calm your nervous system, reduce cortisol levels, and come out of a panic attack faster, or avoid one altogether.
And don’t worry, even if you’ve never had a panic attack, please keep reading, as these breathing strategies can help everyone at any time they feel their stress levels are rising - and who can’t use that right now?
Effective Breathing Strategies that Manage Stress
Many different breathing techniques can help manage stress and get you through a panic attack.
This week, we’ll provide you with three to find the one that works best for you.
Without further ado, let’s explore three different, yet simple, breathing strategies that can help mitigate the damaging effects of stress - whether you are prone to panic attacks or not.
Let me say that again.
These breathing strategies can help anyone at any time. Any of these techniques would be an excellent addition to anyone’s daily regime or simply have in your back pocket any time stress seems to be getting the best of you.
Deep Breathing
Deep breathing can be one of the most effective and straightforward ways to manage your emotions and calm your nervous system when you start to feel overwhelmed. It can also do wonders if you have a panic attack. [3]
One of the most straightforward breathing techniques is simply taking three slow, deep, deliberate breaths in and out through your nose. Studies have shown that even this simple act of deep breathing can effectively reduce cortisol levels and help calm yourself down.
This simple three deep breath technique can also be used whenever you sit down to eat. It helps reduce cortisol levels and switch your nervous system from fight or flight mode to rest and digest mode. Doing so will allow proper blood flow to your gastrointestinal tract so that the nutrients within the food you eat can be better absorbed. After all, there’s a reason why it’s called rest and digest!
Diaphragmatic Breathing
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Another breathing technique is called diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing.
As a beginner, start using both of your hands, but as you become more proficient in this breathing technique, using your hands becomes optional.
First, place one hand on your chest and the other on the upper part of your belly (your diaphragm) and then begin breathing deeply. Take a long, deep breath in through your nose then hold your breath for a count of five before slowly releasing the breath.
You should feel (and see) the hand on your belly move out with each inhale and down with each exhale. The hand on your chest should remain relatively still. Focus on pushing the hand on your stomach up and down as you breathe in and out, remembering to pause for a 5-count after each inhale.
Repeat this process as many times as needed until you feel more grounded and in control.
Similarly, you can practice this breathing technique while lying on the floor with a book on your tummy instead. The book should rise with each in-breath and fall with each out-breath.
Left-Nostril Breathing
The third breathing method we’re going to introduce you to calm yourself down is called left-nostril breathing. [4]
Gently press your right thumb up against your right nostril to block airflow through the right nostril. Extend the rest of your fingers up to the sky like antennae. Take a long, slow, gentle deep breath in through your left nostril, then exhale completely, just as slowly and gently through the same nostril. Repeat, keeping your right nostril blocked the whole time.
Relax your body, close your eyes and visualize each in-breath bringing fresh new life into your body, and each out-breath releasing all stress, fears, anxieties, and tensions. Continue as long as you need (or like). Let each breath pulsate into your cells…feed your body the breath 0f life.
Doing any of these three breathing techniques will work to release stress, reduce cortisol levels, and engage your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest mode).
Understanding Panic Attacks
The first time you experience a panic attack, it can be the scariest thing because you don’t know what is happening to you. You may have even felt like you were about to die. Thankfully, that was not the case, and the sensations you were experiencing eventually passed.
After it happened, it may have taken a while to determine that what you experienced was not a heart attack, as you may have thought, but rather a panic attack.
Once you understand that, take your new-found knowledge and empower yourself. Use it to your advantage, and start adopting some new healthy habits to get your body back to a more balanced state. Doing so can enable you to recognize the next time a panic attack is about to hit so that you can stop it in its tracks!
In moments of stress, fear, or panic building up to a panic attack, STOP and recognize what is happening or about to happen. Remind yourself that you have survived every scary symptom and attack in the past and that this time will be no different. You will make it through this one, too.
Do not choose to react with fear. Instead, recognize that you are having (or are about to have) a panic attack and start your preferred deep breathing method to calm your nervous system and break the anxiety cycle. You may even be able to prevent a full-on attack from beginning in the first place.
You may not be able to learn this overnight. Sometimes you may get caught up in the moment and forget to breathe. But the more you practice, especially if you get in the habit of practicing deep breathing daily, the more natural it will become. The more likely you will be to remember to breathe deeply when (and if) a panic attack is about to strike.
This regular habit of deep breathing just may help you overcome anxiety naturally.
It’s also great to reduce stress and cortisol levels, improve digestion, and help you get a more restful sleep.
Conclusion
Panic attacks, stress, and anxiety are becoming more and more common in our lives. Dealing with them can be a challenge. Panic attacks can be quite overwhelming and prevent you from living your life to its fullest. However, if you start any one of the three breathing techniques mentioned above, you may just stop an attack before it takes control.
Be sure to tune in next week for more actionable strategies you can take if you ever find yourself in the throes of a panic attack.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and value your feedback. Please let me know what you think by dropping me a line or commenting below.
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