When a panic attack hits, the hardest thing in the world is to believe it will pass. Your heart is racing, your chest feels tight, and your brain is screaming danger. But I want you to hear me clearly: It will pass. It always passes.In this 10-minute episode, we break down the physiology of panic and use a simple, clinically proven breathing reset to step on your nervous system's brake pedal.🚀 HELP BRING THE 'ANCHORED' APP TO iOS!
The script
Transcribed from the audio, so the odd word may be off. Tap any line while it plays to keep the words in step with Martin's voice.
When a panic attack hits, the hardest thing in the world is to believe it will pass. Your heart is racing, your chest type, your brain is screaming danger. But I want to tell you something and I want you to really hear it. It will pass. It always passes.
And in the next 10 minutes, I'm going to show you exactly how to help it along. Welcome to calming anxiety. I'm Martin Hewlett. I'm a clinical hypnotherapist and before that a frontline paramedic. I've sat with people in real physical crisis.
I know what panic attack looks like from both sides, the clinical and the personal. And that's why I made this show. Every day, 10 minutes, completely free. I'm here to help you understand your anxiety and find your way back to calm.
If you found me today by searching for how to stop a panic attack, welcome. You're in the right place. There are over 2,300 episodes in the library. Every single one of them free. So subscribe now. Let's begin.
Before we settle in, I have news that I couldn't be more proud to share. To go fund me to get the app for this show anchored onto iOS is going really well. I'll soon be able to start coding for the iOS system because of you. You've made this happen. Thank you.
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Right. Let's find your quiet place. Find somewhere comfy to sit or lie down whatever feels best. Allow your shoulders to drop. Let the jaw unclenched. And if it feels safe to do so, allow your eyes to close.
Today's breathing has one very specific focus. I want you to pay close attention to what happens at the very top of the in-breath. Most of the time, when we breathe in, we stop just before full capacity. Today though, we're going to give it that one extra faction, one small sip, and here's why it matters.
That final expansion at the top of the lungs stimulates the vagal stretch receptors more deeply. It's a more complete vagal reset. It tells your nervous system more clearly, more firmly. The emergency is over.
Let's go. Breathe in through your nose for four. Then take that small sip right at the top. Then we'll hold for two and then out through the mouth for six. With me, my friend. Ready?
In. Two. Three. Four.
Set. Hold. Two. Breathe out.
Two. Three. Four. Five.
Six. Ten. Two. Three.
Four. Set. Hold. Two.
Release. Two. Three. Four.
Five. Six. Good. Always slowly through the mouth on the outro.
Extending every exhale is your vagal break in action. You are not imagining this. You of physiologically stepping on the break of your own nervous system. That is real.
That is yours. And you can use it anywhere, anytime. Now. Allow your breathing to settle into its own natural rhythm.
And I'd like you to bring to mind somewhere that feels safe just for you. It doesn't need to be exotic or perfect. It just needs to feel quiet. To feel known.
To feel yours. Maybe it's a room in your home on a Sunday morning. Or a site streaming through the curtains. Maybe it's a garden or a seat by water.
Or simply inside the car on a long drive with the radio on low. Imagine yourself there now. And as you settle into this place of calm, I want you to notice something about the panic attack that brought you here. When it hit, your brain received a signal that said danger.
And your body responded perfectly. It flooded you with a trance. It raised your heart rate. It heightened your chest.
It sharpened your senses. It did exactly what it was built to do. But here is what I know for my years as a paramedic. The feeling of a panic attack and the feeling of genuine physical danger are almost identical.
The difference is what comes next. Real danger has a source. Panic once you know its name begins to shrink the moment you stop feeding it with fear.
So hear my friend in your safe place. I'd like you to make a simple decision. You are going to stop fighting the feeling. You're going to let it be here.
While it runs its course. Just like a storm passing through. You didn't cause the storm. You don't have to stop it.
You just have to wait and breathe. And then you can see the rest of the rest. The calm is already on its way. See yourself in that place.
Steady, breathing. Watching the storm pass. Safe behind your own window. And then embrace these wonderful words.
A breath between each one. My nervous system is doing its job. I am safe. The panic attack will pass.
It always does. I am not my anxiety. I am the one observing it. Every breath I take brings my body closer to calm.
I have the tools. I have the breath. I have this moment.
I am safe. I am here. I am breathing. That is enough.
Let those words settle now. Allow them to work their way down. Pass the thinking mind and into the body at his listening. The body that already knows on some level that it is safe, that it has been safe all along.
Within this moment, take with you these three daily caring tips. One, the count down drop.
One number per breath. Nine, breathe. Eight. This does two things.
It occupies the part of your brain that is spinning into catastrophe. And it slows your breathing at the same time. Two. Talk to your body.
This one sounds simple, but it is a clinically powerful tool. When you feel the panic symptom arise, the raising heart, the tingling hands, speak to that part of your body directly. Out loud or in your mind and say, "I hear you. You are safe. You can let go now."
It is not magical thinking. It is a clinical technique used in a somatic therapy. The body responds. And three.
Schedule your worry. Anxiety often escalates because we try to suppress it and suppression creates pressure. Instead, try giving your anxiety a dedicated window each day. Ten minutes, same time, same place.
Write down what you are worried about. Then close the notebook. When anxiety tries to rise outside that window, you can genuinely say, "I have time for you later. Not now."
Now gently wiggle your fingers and toes. Bring your awareness back into the room around you. Take a deep breath in and then as you exhale, open your eyes. You stayed.
You breathed. You chose calm in a moment when that was hard. I want you to remember that because the next time panic comes, your brain will have a new memory to reach for. A memory of you choosing calm.
That is how we rewire it. And now one small thing. If this session helped you today, would you share it for me? Just a one person, one message, send this episode.
It might be the reason they discover that panic attack help is available free every single day right here. Thank you. Truly. Have a lovely day my friend.
Smile often and to your beautiful self. Be kind.