Nearly everyone has experienced, at one time or another, a sense of falling apart, losing control, or being overwhelmed. Here’s the Catch-22: since nearly everyone has experienced these types of feelings, they believe they know what it is like to have a panic attack. They don’t. Feelings of panic arise from an identifiable source; panic attacks do not.
The good news is whether you are experiencing a panic attack or simply feeling panicked there are ways to calm yourself. Deep breathing functions both to calm the mind and to reengage the body with normal functioning. The feeling of panic comes from the sympathetic nerves preparing the body to fight or flee from the cause of panic. Deep breathing engages the parasympathetic nervous system which slows the heart rate and lowers blood pressure. If that wasn’t enough good news, the effects are felt immediately.
Here’s a simple deep breathing tutorial. Breathe that causes the chest to fall and rise is shallow in nature. Think about that start of fright that happens when you watch a horror movie: you gasp and then draw shallow breaths or pant. Breath that causes the stomach to fall and rise is the deeper breathing you need to bring on the calm. Draw your breath in to a steady count 1-2-3-4. Hold that breath for a split second like that moment of “hang-time” at the top of the roller coaster. Then release it with another steady 1-2-3-4. The natural inclination can be to blow that breath out fast and hard—like blowing out candles on a birthday cake but the breath out is just as important as that breath in. Imagine there is a candle in front of you that you do not want blown out. Your breath may cause the flame to waver but not snuff it out. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
Now here’s the key that so many people overlook: you need to practice deep breathing. I don’t understand sports much but this analogy seems to ring true with most people. That guy who hits a homerun is the World Series did not attempt a hit for the very first time---more like tens of thousands of attempts. His adrenaline is pumping. He has pressure from all sides including the inside. How is it possible that he succeeds? Muscle memory. He has swung at ball so many times that his body knew what to do as soon as he got into his stance. The same goes for deep breathing your way out of panic. It’s your World Series—adrenaline and all. But if you practice deep breathing daily, your muscles will know what to do even in the most stressful situations. Five minutes a day – even three minutes – is all you need. Practice each night as you are getting ready to sleep. It will be time well spent.
If you would like an audio coaching of establishing deep breathing, like my Facebook page. I’ll post when the audios are available. https://www.facebook.com/ellenlarabeecounselor?mibextid=ZbWKwL
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