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Your mind suddenly explods in a hyperouged state of intense fear. You breathe faster, you think faster, your heart beats faster, your hands sweat and tremble, your chest screams with pain and you can even feel like you lose your control of yourself. As a specialist in clinical neuropsychology, I hear such stories more and more often in my clinical practice. Even in the general public, research suggests that the rate of concerns related to anxiety has laughed quickly as a result of the coronavirus pandemicAmerican Association of Psychology.Keep reading to learn what happens to your body when you have a panic attack.

Each person experiencing a panic attack will describe a unique set of terrifying thoughts, feelings and physical symptoms. Even if there is no clear and present danger, your brain has triggered all "red alert" switches to preparation for an imminent disaster.

The good news is that your body works as it should face an emergency; the oddlyThe "bad" news is that there is no urgency - it's a false alarm. The experience is terrifying - you obviously do not want it to happen again. Let's discover what's going on, what you can do about it when it happens and what you can do to avoid it in the future.

To simplify, you can think of your mind and your body in daily mode as a car leading to normal speed on the highway. If you need to transmit someone in advance on you, you press the gas to increase your speed (in your body, it's your sympathetic-SNS nervous system - which accelerates you). If another car merges in front of you and you have to slow down, you drop on gas (in your body, it's your parasympathetic nervous system - which slows you down). Ideally, the SNS system (energize / activate) and the PNS system (cooling / relaxation) work together - but opposite the other - to maintain the perfect balance of activation necessary to allow you to allow you to access you The desired place. amount of time.

Using this car analogy, what happens in a panic attack is that the gas pedal is suddenly slammed on the ground - with your SNS system pumping adrenaline through your veins as a rocket of Booster renegade. Not good. Think about a cat that walks around his own business, and a huge grumbling dog suddenly jumps from nowhere in attack mode. Do you feel your hair position at the end? This is what the cat feels exactly and probably what you feel during a panic attack. In a panic attack, however, there is no attacking dog or clear danger and present triggering the natural response of your body's natural combustion.

So when panic strikes and a trigger in your head slams the metal pedal for no apparent reason, what are you doing? Well, first of all, I do not like the term "panic attack". The reason is that nothing attacks you (it is an official diagnosis, the wording is out of my control). What happens is that your mind triggered an alert DEFCON 5 without any threat or danger.

So the first thing to understand is that there is no need to be terrified (easier said than doing); And you will need to get your PSN system at stake to recover your mind and body in balance (all sad: the PSN is slower to calm down that the SNS is to reveal to you). Here's how to do it.

But before doing anything: Make sure you go to a safe place because you need time and space to recover. Pull on the side of the road, go to the sidewalk if you cross the street or enter someone who can look at you while you treat with the snorkeled thoughts and feelings inside you.

After arriving at a secure space, the best advice is to start focusing on your breathing. It is usually quite easy to control control. Start taking deep breaths through your nose with at least five and feeling your stomach and your chest fully fill with air; Then, slowly breathe from your mouth counting a little over six or seven, and feel your belly and your chest completely air. Bringing a conscious consciousness to one of your sensory modalities during your Hyperved state will help you get more foundation and allow your PNS system to start slowly adjusting your level of activation.

When you breathe through your nose, see if you can identify perfumes that you could register (the idea here is to get your thoughts on something concrete - is a nearby bakery ...) You can also use your hands to help you calm your race thoughts. Rub your hands, focusing on the texture of your skin and rub your hands on your lap to fold your body and stretch your muscles.

You can rub your head and temples with your hands and run your fingers through your hair (your hair is dry or oily, if you use a conditioner; again, get your thoughts on any thought that can distract from the feeling of terror ) Some people encounter an attack ferment to allow their other directions to become the most dominant input source (touch, feel, feel, sound).

If you have dared, let yourself be involved in panic mode and let it wash yourself as a wave at the beach, knowing that it will only last a few minutes and there is no real danger. Some are able to activate thoughts that are soothing and soothing - but these techniques usually have to be practiced in advance (more on this subject below). Anyone experiencing sudden strikes of terror can develop their own bag of techniques to support and reduce the reaction of SNS renegate.

After the event, you must think about what happened, why and what to do about it. You could discover a trigger, as a mass gathering of people, an open space or something that remind you to someone who has been naughty with you. Maybe you encounter a phobic reaction or relive a traumatic experience?

Kjell Tore Hovik, Psyd, Ph.D., is a specialist in clinical neuropsychology and co-author ofWhen the crisis hits: 5 steps to cure your brain, body and your life of chronic stress.