Stop Doing These Things if You Have Panic Attacks | Ep. 377

In the realm of managing anxiety and panic attacks, we often find ourselves inundated with advice on what to do. However, the path to understanding and controlling these overwhelming experiences also involves recognizing what not to do. Today, we shed light on this aspect, offering invaluable insights for those grappling with panic attacks. 

Stop doing these things if you are having panic attacks, and do not forget to be kind to yourself every step of the way. 

1. DON’T TREAT PANIC ATTACKS AS DANGER

It’s a common reaction to perceive the intense symptoms of a panic attack—rapid heartbeat, dizziness, or a surge of fear—as signals of immediate danger. However, it’s crucial to remind ourselves that while these sensations are incredibly uncomfortable, they are not inherently dangerous. Viewing them as mere sensations or thoughts rather than threats can create a helpful distance, allowing for more effective response strategies.

2. DON’T FLEE THE SCENE

The urge to escape a situation where you’re experiencing a panic attack is strong. Whether you’re in a grocery store, on an airplane, or in a social setting, the instinct to run away can be overwhelming. However, leaving can reinforce the idea that relief only comes from escaping, which isn’t a helpful long-term strategy. Staying put, albeit challenging, helps break this association and builds resilience.

3. DON’T ACCELERATE YOUR ACTIONS

During a panic attack, there might be a tendency to speed up your actions or become hyper-vigilant in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort quickly. This response, however, can signal to your brain that there is a danger, perpetuating the cycle of panic. Slowing down your breath and movements can alter your brain’s interpretation of the situation, helping to calm the storm of panic.

4. AVOID RELIANCE ON SUBSTANCES

Turning to alcohol or recreational drugs as a quick fix to dampen the intensity of a panic attack can be tempting. Nonetheless, this can lead to a dependency that ultimately exacerbates the problem. It’s important to let panic’s intensity ebb and flow naturally, without leaning on substances that offer only a temporary and potentially harmful reprieve.

5. STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP

Self-criticism and judgment can add fuel to the fire of anxiety and panic. It’s vital to adopt a compassionate stance towards yourself, recognizing that experiencing panic attacks doesn’t reflect personal failure or weakness. Embracing self-kindness can significantly mitigate the added stress of self-judgment, creating a more supportive environment for recovery.

SEEKING SUPPORT

Remember, you’re not alone in this struggle. Whether through therapy, online courses, or community support, reaching out for help is a sign of strength. Resources like “Your Anxiety Toolkit” are there to remind you that it’s possible to lead a fulfilling life, despite the challenges panic attacks may present.

Lastly, embrace the notion that it’s a beautiful day to do hard things. Facing panic with acceptance rather than resistance diminishes its hold over you, opening the door to healing and growth.

TRANSCRIPT: 

Stop doing these things if you have panic attacks. I often, here on Your Anxiety Toolkit, talk about all the things you need to do—you need to do more of, you need to practice skills that you can get better at. But today, we’re talking about the things you shouldn’t do if you are someone who experiences panic attacks, panic disorder, or any other disorder that you also experience panic attacks in. Let’s get to it. Let’s talk about the things not to deal.

Welcome back. Stop doing these things if you have panic attacks. When I say that, in no way do I mean that the things we’re going to discuss you should beat yourself up for. If you’re doing any of the things that we talk about today, please be gentle. It is a normal human reaction to do these things. I don’t want you to beat yourself up. Please feel absolutely zero judgment from me because even I am someone who needs to keep an eye out for this, keep myself on check with these things when I am experiencing panic attacks as well. Let’s go through them. 

The number one thing to stop doing if you’re having a panic attack is to stop treating them like they are dangerous. If you experience symptoms of panic or you experience panic disorder, you know that feeling. You feel like you’re going to die. You feel like your heart is going to explode or implode, or your brain will explode or implode. You’ll know that feeling of adrenaline and cortisol rushing around your body. You get it; I get it. It feels so scary. But we must remind ourselves that it’s not dangerous, and we can’t treat them like they’re dangerous. We can’t respond to these symptoms as if they’re dangerous. We want to instead treat them like they are, which is sensations in the body or thoughts that appear in your brain. Once we can do that, then we have a little bit of distance from them and we can respond effectively. 

Now, the second thing I want you to stop doing if you have panic attacks is to never leave. If you are at the grocery store and you’re having a panic attack, do not leave the grocery store. If you’re on an airplane, boarding an airplane, and you’re having a panic attack, do not leave the airplane. If you’re in a room and you’re experiencing panic, don’t leave. 

Now, I know in that moment, it can feel so dangerous, as we just discussed, and so scary, but when we leave, we will associate relief with running away, and we actually don’t want that. Instead, with panic, we want the relief to be that we wrote it out and we were able to tolerate that feeling and navigate that feeling effectively and compassionately and not from the place of running away and escaping. If you can do one thing, the most important thing to do is to not leave where you’re at. 

Now, does that mean that you can’t take a minute to step away for a second? That’s fine. Does it mean that you can’t, if you’re in a conversation, just say, “Can I have a few minutes? I just need to run to the restroom,” or whatever it be, take some time to get yourself back together? That’s okay. We’re not here to win any races or anything, but do your best not to leave the actual environment or place that you are having the panic attack. 

Now, the third thing you can not do if you’re having a panic attack is don’t speed up your actions. We talk a lot about this in our online course called Overcoming Anxiety and Panic. How you respond to a panic attack can really determine how your brain interprets the event. If you’re having a panic attack and you really speed up and you start to act frantic or in an urgent way, and you’re sort of like hypervigilant looking around or trying to urgently frantically change something, your brain will interpret that high-paced activity or that speeding up of your actions as if it is a danger, and it will keep sending out hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which will keep the panic attack and the anxiety going.

What we want to do instead is slow it down, slow your breath down, slow your actions down, really get in tune. If you can just slow it down a little and change how you respond. And what we want to do here—and we do this in Overcoming Anxiety and Panic, if you’re interested in taking this course and you don’t have access to therapy or you’re wanting a step-by-step way of working through generalized anxiety and panic, go ahead and take a look. It’s at CBTSchool.com. You can go and check it out there, but if not, you can also do this with your clinician or by yourself—is do an inventory of how you respond when you are panicking. What safety behaviors do you engage in to try and get it to go away? What do you do to respond to it as if it is dangerous? Do you leave? Do you speed up? Do you become hypervigilant? Do you seek reassurance? Do you do mental compulsions? 

We can go through and do an audit of those behaviors and see what you’re doing to sort of control and manage that anxiety. And we want to really work hard at reducing those behaviors. Do an inventory and get very clear so that next time you are having a panic attack, you can instead change those behaviors or replace them with more effective behaviors. If you’re interested again in that course, you can go to CBTSchool.com/overcominganxiety. 

Now, the fourth thing you need to stop doing if you have panic is to not rely on substances. And when I say substances, I mean alcohol or recreational drugs. There is a massive overlap between people with panic attacks and panic disorder and substance use, and I get it. Having a quick drink of alcohol can sometimes take the edge off a panic attack. However, once again, if that is your way of coping, you will build a reliance and a dependence on that behavior. And we want to work instead at allowing that discomfort to rise and fall on its own without intervening with ineffective behavior. And recreational substances are a really big no-no if you’re someone who is experiencing a panic attack. 

Now, that is different from prescribed medications. If you have been prescribed a psychiatric medication and you’re following the doctor’s orders, that is a different story. And please do go and speak to your doctor about those specific directions. What I’m speaking about right here is substances like recreational drugs or alcohol to help manage that panic attack. 

Now, the last thing you need to stop doing if you have panic disorder or panic attacks is you have to stop beating yourself up. Beating yourself up will only make it worse. In fact, we have research to show that the more you criticize yourself, beat yourself up, judge yourself, the more likely you are for your brain to release more anxiety hormones and increase the experience of anxiety and panic. And so, that goes against everything that we want and need. We don’t need to add more anxiety to the mix if you’re already experiencing a panic attack. 

And so, what we want to do here is work at not beating yourself up, not criticizing yourself for having this because it’s not your fault. It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. It’s a normal human reaction to want to run away and do everything you can to make it go away, including drinking substances and doing recreational drugs. We don’t want to beat ourselves up, whether you’ve done those in the past or if you’re currently doing them.

If you’re struggling, reach out for help. There are clinicians around the world who can help. We have, again, online courses, if you haven’t got access or you can’t afford those services. There are books, there are podcasts like this one that are free. Do what you can to get support and get help so that you’re not doing this alone. 

You aren’t alone. Thousands and millions of people around the world struggle with panic attacks. Again, they do not mean that there’s anything wrong with you. And there are important, very effective skills you can use to manage them, and go on and live a very, very, very, very wonderful, successful, fulfilling life. 

Of course, I’m always going to end with this because I always do, but do also remind yourself it is a beautiful day to do hard things. The more you can willingly have panic and allow it to rise and fall on its own, the less power it has over you. So, do remember today is a beautiful day to do hard things. 

Thank you so much for being here with me. I look forward to seeing you next week on Your Anxiety Toolkit, and I’ll see you there.