If you recognize that you are having a panic attack, there are some things you should know, and many others that you can do in this situation:

You should know :

IT’S TEMPORARY: While these symptoms can be uncomfortable, they do not represent a real threat to your life. Stay calm! This will pass in minutes, you are safe.

Your brain has identified an internal or external stressor, and it is activating an alarm response, preparing your body to respond to this danger - fight or flight.

Remember, the danger FEELS REAL, but it is NOT REAL. Right now, we are going to restore the system to balance, and later when you are calm, you can review what stressors are generating these responses.

NOW, LET’S TAKE ACTION. The first thing you can do to give your brain the correct information is to ask yourself, “Am I in a real danger situation right now?” By being able to identify that “HERE and NOW I AM NOT IN DANGER,” this response should be deactivated. To do this, there are many tricks we can implement to quickly convey that safety message to our brain, such as: What to do? Find a quiet place and sit down. Identify the temporary state of this situation. Say out loud “I am having a panic attack, I am safe, this lasts a few minutes and will pass.” Repeat “I am safe”. 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1: Let’s deactivate the alarm message through our senses.

For this: Identify 5 things you can see right now, observe each one for 20 seconds, and name them out loud and briefly describe them.

For example, “I am looking at the table in front of me, it’s square, it’s brown, etc.”

Identify 4 things your body is in contact with right now, observe each one for 20 seconds, and name them out loud and briefly describe them. For example, “My pants, they’re denim, they feel soft, etc.”

Identify 3 things you can hear right now, pay attention to them for a few seconds, and name them out loud. For example, “I’m hearing the sound of the clock in my house, etc.” Identify 2 things you can smell right now, pay attention to them for a few seconds, and name them out loud. For example, “I’m smelling the scent of my perfume, etc.” Locate 1 thing that you can taste right now, pay attention to it for a few seconds and name it out loud. For example “I’m tasting the flavor of my toothpaste, etc.”

Chew something sweet: Find something sweet that you can chew. This will balance your sugar level and change the chemistry of your brain. It will also signal to your brain that you are not in danger, because who starts eating calmly when in a risky situation, right?
Sing: You don’t have to be a great singer, just use your voice. This will change your breathing and stimulate your vagus nerve, taking you out of the alert response. Shake your body: Move your arms and legs if you are standing and shake them. If you are lying down on the floor, shake your hips if you can. This will help release the chemicals in your body that have been activated for the alarm response.

Frontal - Occipital: Place the palms of your hands, one on your forehead and one on the back of your neck, and apply gentle pressure to activate your logical reasoning areas.

Another language: Repeat random words in another language. This will shift the focus of attention away from the stressor and force your brain to concentrate on making sense of what you're saying, thereby deactivating the alarm response.

Stimulate your parasympathetic areas: Butterfly hug: Cross your arms in front of your chest, with your palms at the center of your chest at the level of your collarbones, and with the tips of your fingers press each side alternately, simulating the flutter of a butterfly. Notice how the sensations in your body become stabilized.

Clock: With the tips of two of your fingers, massage the area between your eyebrows in a circular motion clockwise for 2 minutes. Observe how the sensations in your body stabilize.

Plate: Place both hands with palms facing upwards as if you were holding a plate, now open and close them by gently tapping the inner sides of the palm. Observe how the sensations in your body stabilize.

Suck a lemon: This will activate your salivary glands. Notice how the sensations in your body stabilise. The key is to decrease the frequency of heartbeats: We can do this by focusing on our breath. Pay attention to your breathing and do a 4 by 4 sequence: Inhale deeply for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, and hold the breath for 4 seconds.

Taking ice and placing it on your wrist or forearm - this will reduce cortisol levels. Press: Stand with your bare feet on the ground and place the palms of your hands against a wall, feeling the firmness of this support, while breathing deeply. Safe place: Close your eyes and visualize any place in the world, real or imaginary, that feels safe for you. Focus on this image and try to feel what sensations you would experience if you were there. For example: "I am at the beach, the breeze is warm, I smell the sunscreen, my skin feels soft, etc."

Company: If you are with someone who can assist you, ask them to do the following: Ask them to hug you or gently hold your arms. The physical contact of a trusted person releases oxytocin and quickly decreases the alarm response. Ask them to look into your eyes and repeat with a calm voice and a smile "everything is okay, I'm here". This activates your social connection system and quickly reduces the alarm response. Ask them to ask you easy questions such as "What did you eat today?" or "What is 2 plus 2?" This will activate your logical reasoning area. Ask them to tell you a short and happy story. Listening to their voice will calm you down, and this can even be done over the phone.

Ask them to stand in front of you and take deep breaths so you can imitate them. This will activate your mirror neurons and allow you to mimic their state of relaxation. Remember, you are not alone. 3 out of 10 people suffer or have had panic attacks.

If any of these tips are not getting you out of panic, please call your emergency service.

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