Have you ever experienced a full-blown panic attack where your breathing gets very shallow and you just want to escape?  Or you get so angry and frustrated your body tenses up and begins to shake?  Or you’re filled with so much fear that you’re physically unable to move?

These are all very LOUD ways your body talks to you to let you know something is out of balance in your mind and has triggered your flight/fight/freeze response.

This is a response triggered by your autonomic nervous system when your brain perceives a threat.  You may experience many physiological responses like:

increased pulse rate

sweating

shallow more rapid breathing

muscles tense up or you start to shake

narrow focus on what’s creating the stress response

These physical responses represent what happens to the body when you are under physical or emotional stress.

What Can You Do When You Notice This Happening?

I’d like to recommend combining two tools. The first is the Three Breath Trick I learned from Abigail (found in her Healthy Mind Toolbox) and the second tool I call Return To Your Senses.

The Three Breath Trick is very simple yet an incredibly powerful way to interrupt the spin cycle going on in your mind.  When coupled with the Return To Your Senses tool it may provide a long enough PAUSE that you notice yourself calming down.  From this place you’re more open to discover the cause of your stress using Abigail’s tools from the Healthy Mind Toolbox.

So how do you do it?

When you notice any of the physiological responses listed above happening in your body, bring your awareness to your breath.  Notice how you’re breathing then intentionally take three deep breaths deep into your belly.  Allow your belly to expand with each breath.  This is not a time to worry about holding in your stomach.  Let your belly relax and extend with each inhale.

While you’re breathing, pay attention to how your breath feels moving through your body; in through your nose and out through your mouth.  You can do the Three Breath Trick more than once.  Between each round of deep breaths, breathe normally for a few seconds.  Then continue with three deep belly breaths for up to nine cycles.

Next, bring your awareness to your five senses – sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste and ask yourself the following questions.

• What do I see around me in this moment? What do you physically see in your current environment?  Focus your attention on those items.
• What do I hear? Do you hear sounds of the world around you?  People’s voices?  The sounds of nature?  Sounds of an urban city or birds chirping?  Focus your attention on the sounds.
• What do I smell? Do you smell something cooking in the oven?  The smell of the dirt outside or smells coming from the breeze?
• What do I feel? Do you feel clothing on your body?  Do you feel your hands sitting on your lap?  Do you feel wind on your face?
• What do you taste? Did you recently have something to eat or drink and the taste lingers?  Or do you taste the familiar flavor of your own mouth?

You don’t need to be in a full blown panic attack to try this.  I invite you to take a few minutes and give it a try now.  Before you start, check in with your body to see where you notice any physical tension.  After you’re done see if you notice a shift in your physical body.

When you focus on your five senses and the present moment you quiet the spin cycle going on in your mind.

The last question:  after you’ve done the Three Breath Trick and the Return To Your Senses ask yourself this question.

Am I safe in this moment?

When you become present and quiet the fear in the mind you’ll discover at your deepest core lies peace and awareness.  You have love and everything you need all around you and you are safe.

With love and healing,

Diane

Here’s a little holiday help for your mind and body!

Since physical tension and emotional stress are inextricably linked, it’s important to utilize both mental and physical stress-relief tools.  Think of the mind and body as having a continual conversation – the mind, if thinking stressful thoughts, tells the body to create a fight or flight response (which in turn creates physical tension).  The body, if tense, reinforces the mind’s stressful thinking.  To fully disconnect this feedback loop, you need to address both the mind and the body.

One of the easiest ways to help release physical tension and calm the mind at the same time is to utilize a variety of breathing techniques.  Don’t underestimate the power of the breath to help release physical tension, oxygenate and relax muscles, stop panic thinking, and elevate your emotional state.  In this video, I’ve teamed up with my business partner and good friend, yoga teacher Jess Ryan, to show you a fast breathing technique you can use right now.  The road to wellness, whether you’re looking for pain relief, weight loss, or emotional well-being, lies in establishing awareness of the conversation between your mind and body.  Listen in on the conversation, add your two cents via the breath, and help your mind and body become a solid, healthy team.  Look for more breathing techniques from Jess and I in future posts!

Nope.  Nothing changed.  I completely lost it and became an emotional conglomoration of complete panic, despair, and anger.  I imagine my inner self as a big, black swirling cloud during that time.   

Prior to my meltdown, I was doing pretty well emotionally because I was fresh from my trip to the specialist and full of new hope.  I was sure the treatments would work, and I was feeling so much better mentally that I was able to hear my Inner Healer (see previous post) when she spoke to me.  During a physical therapy appointment, my physical therapist mentioned a local woman who taught breathing and relaxation techniques.  My physical therapist was treating myself and another woman with vulvodynia at the time, and she was always looking for anything that might help us.  She gave me this woman’s card and said, “Why not try it?  We’re trying to relax your pelvic floor muscles and here’s a person who specializes in deep breathing and relaxation.  It can’t hurt!”   

I took the card enthusiastically, looked at it, and KNEW.  I just knew I had to make an appointment to see this woman.  My Inner Healer was adamant.  I was certainly not in tune with my Inner Healer at the time, but that momentary pause in the panic and despair litany in my mind was just enough to let her message come through.  For me, that moment was one of those pivotal, life-changing moments I will forever cherish.   

Shortly after this appointment, I began the meltdown and spiral into complete and utter hopelessness.  The medication was not working, I was reacting badly to another medication, the muscle relaxants left me feeling loopy, and physical therapy hurt even more than I had thought possible.  Luckily, I had already made my appointment with the breathing teacher, and I was grasping desperately for any help at this point.  I dragged myself to see her.   

I cannot even explain the magic of that appointment.  Yes, I learned the first few breathing techniques, but I also experienced a magical, soothing calm just from being in Kathleen’s presence.  She guided me into a relaxation state, soothed me into deep breathing, and for the first time in so many months, brought me out of panic.  My Inner Healer was absolutely right.  This was the woman I needed to see.  This was the beginning of my journey, the impetus for the surrender into acceptance and the move forward into healing my emotions.  I will be forever grateful for every part of that experience and all that I learned from Kathleen as she worked with me over the next several months.   

My Inner Healer led me to Kathleen so I could learn to listen to my Inner Healer even more.  And, I believe, so I could teach you how to listen to your Inner Healer and find your own path to peace, calm, joy, and health.  Your Inner Healer knows what you need.    

To learn more about breathing, visit Kathleen’s website at www.BarrattBreathworks.com.