I remember the first time I shared with a client how we experience life through our senses. Kind of like the obvious being not so obvious until it hits us: "Oh yeah! What I see, what I hear, what I smell, what I touch, what I taste....and what I intuit (intuition/spiritual discernment) IS all of what I have to experience the world around me!" Truth.
Yet you may be one of the millions of people on our planet who also experiences life through your "emergency state" of feelings that all point to the following: Imagined Fear(s) + Worry combined. When we are living in fear (real or imagined) and when we worry about those fears (real or imagined), we are experiencing anxiety. When our anxiety catches on fire, then we experience panic. Just like anger on fire leads to feelings of rage, the same is true with generalized anxiety. We are anxious and we know it, but when it catches on fire, we go into panic mode.
Today's blog post is how to interrupt your anxiety and/or panic modes by having access to your own anti-anxiety and anti-panic porta-pack. These are the things you can carry with you to help you quickly come out of that altered state of consciousness and get back to the "now" of your present life.
Oh by the way, these suggestions are for when you are away from home and unable to pursue some of the other techniques that work to instantly calm you/bring you back to "now" reality. Such as....each hand holding onto an ice cube for as long as you can stand it....walking barefoot in the snow or on a cold-enough driveway/road for as long as you can stand it...jumping into a super warm or super cold shower...putting your face or both hands into a bowl of ice water for as long as you can stand it, etc. etc. Heat and cold have a way of zapping us back to where we need to come back to when we experience emotional chaos to any significant degree...
All you will need for your own personal porta-pack is a small zippered pouch or ziplock bag (either works!). Inside your pack, you can include the following items:
1. Individually wrapped alcohol swabs.
Kind of like the baby sister of smelling salts without knocking you out, an individual alcohol swab, when opened, can be used to "sniff" you back into reality instantly without harming you. Remember, anything you use which "grounds" you back into real life and right now reality (instead of what you are worrying and/or panicking over inside your head) is a good thing in these moments.
2. Individually wrapped super sour hard candy.
My clients love everything from the super sour Warheads brand powder (which comes in its own individualized triangular packet), and/or any other sour/super sour candy that makes you go YUCK! instead of YUM! (LOL) Clients of mine have also used Altoids breath mints for this purpose (very strong and unpleasant enough flavor). Whatever hard candy or mints you can suck on will work here.
3. "Mini" containers of hot sauce, lemon juice, and/or other "liquid"-based hot/sour/bitter substance that can be dropped onto the tongue (just a drop or two...not the whole bottle!). Functions the same as would the hard and sour candy/breath mints.
4. Fidget/squeeze/pull/light up device (spinner, sqeeze toy, roller with "spikes"...whatever works that doesn't cause you to pick at and/or otherwise interfere with your own skin/hair/nails (cuticles, feet, eyelashes, eyebrows, etc.).
5. Gum with strong scent/flavor.
6. Affirmation notecard (to read). "It's just a feeling. This feeling cannot hurt me. This feeling will pass. I need to slow down my breathing. I will slow it down now so each breath in and out takes me ten seconds. Starting now..."
7. Hydroxyzine emergency stash (anti-histamine). By prescription for short-term use by PCP. Non addictive, but can make you drowsy as it calms you. Offered under assorted brand names including Vistaril and Atarax. Designed for short-term relief and not long-term anxiety management.
8. "Mini" essential oil(s) of choice for fragrance that calm/sooth and/or energize/stimulate depending on your preference (lavender, mint, eucalyptus, citrus, etc.).
Beyond these items which you can carry with you or have quick access to (at work or in your vehicle), keep in mind that you can also use your phone as a means to obtain instant help through appropriate apps that are designed specifically for anxiety/panic reduction. Without naming names, some are free and others require a paid subscription. You may also go to youtube (free!) and type in the search box "How to Calm Down Right Now"....and you'll be amazed what pops up for you to consider watching.
No anxiety or panic attack has killed a single soul. It generally feels like it will, but it doesn't. Also, no anxiety or panic attack lasts as long as you fear it will. On average, the "worst" of anxiety and panic-related symptoms involve just 3-5 minutes. Keep that in mind as you practice slower and deeper breathing for 3-5 minutes once the symptoms begin!
Square breathing (Navy Seals approved!) is one extremely effective method of slowing down your breathing and reducing each in-and-out cycle of breath to last at least 10-12 seconds. The goal is to be able to breath in-and-out no more than six times per minute of time. If you can reduce that number down to five breaths/minute---even better.
The pattern for square breathing is this: Inhale through your nose for a count of at least 3-5 seconds, then hold your breath for at least 2-3 seconds, then exhale through your mouth for 4-6 seconds, and then hold your breath again for at least 2-3 seconds before you repeat the process (inhale-hold-exhale-hold-inhale-hold-exhale-hold..)
Anxiety and panic can be a fact of life for many of us, but it loses its power over us when we have the tools (and use them!) to quickly and effectively reduce the intensity and frequency of any given episode.
Until next post....
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