Panic attacks are crippling. They occur all of a sudden without warning and take a massive toll on mental and physical health.
Although the condition isn’t life-threatening, panic attacks can disrupt day-to-day life if you don’t learn how to handle it. But a psychologist shows how to tackle it in four easy steps.
Psychologist’s 4 steps to ‘break’ a panic attack
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear causing severe physical reactions like tightening of the chest, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
While most people have just one or two panic attacks in a lifetime, it can be a recurring problem for some and those who experience it often may have a condition called panic disorder, notes Mayo Clinic.
Although the condition isn’t dangerous, it can affect the quality of life. Clinical psychologist and brain health expert Dr. Daniel Amen claims in a TikTok video that you can “break” a picnic attack by simply following the below steps.
Don’t leave
One of the first things to do while having a panic attack is not to leave the situation unless it’s dangerous, says Dr. Daniel.
He says when you try to exist the situation causing you the panic attacks will take control of you if you leave.
Practice long breathing
The psychologist says taking long breaths during a panic attack helps come out of it. He suggests doing the 15 second-breath.
You need to take a big breath for four seconds, hold it in for a minute and a half, eight seconds out, and hold it for another minute and a half. He claims practicing the technique for just two minutes will make “panic go away.”
Write down the negative thoughts
The third step involves writing down the thoughts bothering you, which he calls ANTS – Attacking Negative Thoughts.
Try correcting the thought, meaning think positively, after jotting it down. He says, ANTS usually keeps building on if not addressed, making you panic more.
What medication to use
Dr. Daniel recommends using I-theanine for panic attacks. He also suggests magnesium and Gaba, but not Xanax.
He claims Xanax can “change your brain to need it” every time you have a panic attack becoming an added problem.
Dr. Daniel is one the most “visible and influential experts” on brain health and mental health. He is a physician, adult, and child psychiatrist who has founded Amen Clinics – a mental health facility in 11 locations across the US.
The psychiatrist has penned several books to become a 12-time New York Times bestselling author. Some of his works include Change Your Brain, Change Your Life; The End of Mental Illness; Healing ADD, and others.
