Ridding of Panic and Unhelpful Fear

Panic attacks. Excessive worry. Obsessive rumination. Avoidance and isolation. I know. When it hits, its legit. All reasoning is gone; one can only feel consumed with terror. The alarms go off with no delay, whether there is real danger or not. This. Is. Anxiety.

Does any of this resonate with you?

I hear the same valid fear over and over again from people that they are struggling with anxiety. Perhaps it’s racing thoughts that feel so invasive and won’t go away. Or maybe it’s an overwhelming urge to get out. Sometimes, people can become so consumed with fear that their body covers itself in sweat.

If you can relate to any of this, first know that you’re not alone. Fear is a common and normal emotion, but when it becomes all consuming and debilitating, you know it’s time for a change. 

You weren’t born having panic attacks. Here’s a quick background on the story behind anxiety, even when genetics are involved. Trauma is a big word. But all it means is this:

Trauma - Fear of death or injury to self, or a loved one. This can be represented by an emotional threat (abandonment) or physical (pain).

Anytime the body perceives this possibility, it kicks on the stress switch. The problem with anxiety is, the fear does not match the threat.

It’s a false alarm. The catastrophizing, panic response, is not applicable. And it is really hard to turn it off.

The worst part, is that while there are often genetics laying fertile ground for anxiety problems to be induced in some, it becomes an impairing pattern (disorder) when one faces trauma and does not get it resolved.

This means that the person hasn’t healed fully, and therefore the brain can more easily swing back to that painful, scary situation with a present day exposure to similar sensation (visual, sound, touch, smell, or taste). The brain responds as if the body is back in physical or emotional harm, just as it remembers this stimulus in the time of trauma.

Examples of trauma can vary from violence or tragedy to emotional neglect or rejection on the playground. Remember, emotional injury matters. We all need love and to be loved. Rejection leaves scars….Until we heal :)

Often these traumatic events store deep into the painful memory folders and we don’t even know they connect. There is more on this topic coming soon in the blog (healing from trauma and complex trauma , but for now…here’s how to flip the switch back off (behavior fix, immediate relief).

Here are some steps to help you navigate Anxiety:

Step 1: Get the reins on your hormonal baseline (the internal drug store) with self-care. Hormones are messengers the body sends when stressed, tired, hungry, and restless. An imbalance of substances like caffeine, sugar and the actual hormones of stress and fatigue will send your thought control muscle into a tailspin. When you drink coffee, eat sugar or stay up late, your body gains stress.

Keep a balance. Exercise, fun, affection (yes, there is a “cuddle hormone” called Oxytocin which helps a mother go into labor and release milk to a child, helps a couple create intimacy and reduces stress when you snuggle with your puppy), sleep and a balanced diet go along way.

Set your life up for hormonal equilibrium with priorities like a structured daily routine, close friends for emotional release and getting sleep. Thoughts speed up with low sleep. This is due to the stress hormone that activates when tired. It is a primal instinct for survival reasons.

With racing thoughts and high stress levels, the mind is less focused on big picture thinking and facts. In this state, it will surrender to fast paced, irrational and fearful thoughts. I want to point out that many people with anxiety don’t sleep well, and they can get into a nasty cycle of hormonal imbalance. Throw an extra cup of coffee on top of fatigue and a small relational conflict, and the spiral begins…

Step 2: Work those hormones by increasing oxygen and be the one (not your anxiety) to raise your endorphins. Breathe and sweat.

When that anxious switch is flipped, focus on your breathing and put your attention onto your muscles.

BREATHE OUT your fears. Let them go. Take five breaths on each hand, holding up a finger each time. By doing this, you will activate your parasympathetic nervous system (the breaks), which then tells your body to slow down on cortisol production (the gas pedal).

By doing this, you will receive immediate relief by focusing on what you can control: breathing as well as muscle tension relief.

MAKE SOME SWEAT. Another helpful tool is to kill that cortisol and adrenaline level with some endorphins. Lean into the stress, the high heart rate, the short breath. Purposefully intensify your muscle tension by doing something physically exerting: jumping jacks, going for a run, push ups, or even by squeezing all of your muscles as hard as you can.

At first, this may seem to intensify the physical tension, but that’s where your breathing comes in. Exerting physical effort helps with the hormones, and also it is a common technique in therapy for panic disorder, used to prove to the mind that the symptoms are JUST a sensation, and the body is needing to burn off stress. 

Step 3: Focus on your mind. Your thoughts are also something that you can control and manage on your own. In order to do this, you need to get your thoughts out on paper. Write them all out, every single thing that comes to mind. 

Now, recognize and circle the irrational ones. Ask yourself: Is this really true? If this happened, what would the worst case scenario be? Find out your absolute worst possible case scenario, and then face it.

My body is failing me. Is it? Is there proof that your body is failing you?

I have an illness and I’m dying. Is there evidence that you’re dying?

I’m stuck and I cannot get out. What is the evidence that you are truly stuck?

Usually you will find that the answer is no. If the answer is yes, there is a separate process for that, and you will need to create a safety plan. One that you have total control over and can give you peace in ‘what if’ situations.

If there is no probable danger, it’s time to move on to the next step.

Step 4: Surrender. Surrendering is a commitment, and an emotional response to your fear. Make a safety plan for the real danger, and surrender the rest. Take remaining worries captive. Receive peace and trust that everything is okay. You are safe. You are lovable. Accept that your mind is messing with you and that your subconscious is trying to keep you safe by creating a God-given reaction in order to protect your body. However, understand it is a false alarm and embrace it.

Receive peace.

Breathe it in, over and over again, until you receive it.

Let the fear come, do its job, and then let it go.