Rosen’s Mindfulness Minutes no. 4
When I was enrolled in the Cognitive Behavior Therapy program in San Diego the vast majority of patients were either in healthcare or the military. You can read into that as you may.
ANXIETY AND PANIC ATTACKS
Most of us in the program suffered from anxiety and panic attacks.
The fear that induces panic or anxiety can result in real physiological responses such as rapid heart rate, faster and shallower breathing, sweating, trembling and a feeling as if you were about to have a heart attack or die.
The symptoms are real, they are not just in one’s head.
The issue is that we and our brain overestimate the danger and our sympathetic nervous system goes into hyperdrive. That flight, fight or freeze response.
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PANIC OF THE PANIC
Mingyur Rinpoche, a Buddhist monk, who teaches meditation has been very open about his panic attacks he had as a young boy. He tells people how through meditation he came to invite his panic in as opposed to trying to repress or repel it which only seemed to make the panic worse. He even talks about how our panic symptoms are typically worse thinking about the event that causes the panic – this he referred to as the “panic of the panic.”
Luckily there are some ways to address panic when it does occur. In my mindfulness minutes no 2 I reviewed a number of breathing techniques which can help such as box breathing and the 4-7-8 technique.
COUNTING GAME
Another tool you can use is the counting game.
Wherever you are, look around and count things.
You might see and say ‘one table’ and ‘four chairs’ and ‘two doors’ etc.
By focusing your attention on something new you may begin to see your nervous system calm down and the volume of your anxiety decrease.
By focusing your attention on something new you may begin to see your nervous system calm down and the volume of your anxiety decrease.
ABC GAME
You can try the ABC game.
In this technique you choose a category such as food or animals.
Starting with A you might say A for Apple, and B for Banana, and C for Cantaloupe, etc. Again you are removing your awareness from panic to something more benign.
3’s OR 7’s GAME
Lastly, you may try counting. You can count by 3’s or 7’s either starting at 0, or to make it harder, and requiring more concentration, you may start at 100 and count backwards. Again you are redirecting your attention to allow your heart rate and breathing to slow.
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PRACTICE
It is hard to learn how to swim when you are drowning. So do not wait to practice one of these techniques in the middle of a full blown panic attack. Preferably, pick one and practice it every day or three times a day. In this way you will be ready to act when the panic begins to set in.
I hope you have found this helpful. Be safe and be well.
