If you are in the middle of a panic attack right now, or carrying the heavy dread of the next one, take a deep breath and stay right here.
You are not in danger—you are experiencing a temporary shift in chemistry, and chemistry is something we can absolutely work with. In today’s episode of Calming Anxiety, we dive into a powerful, physiologically proven breathing technique designed to physically press the pause button on your panic response. By adding a simple "micro-sip" of air to the top of your inhalation, you will learn how to deeply activate your vagus nerve and signal to your entire nervous system that you are completely safe.
No mindset tricks here—just pure biology utilized to bring your body back to a steady, peaceful rhythm. Support the Show & Join Our Community🚀 Help Us Launch the Anchored App!We are working hard to bring the brand-new Anchored app directly to the Apple ecosystem to help even more people navigate anxiety. Because Martin has never owned an Apple product, a wonderful friend has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help him secure an old MacBook to code on. We are so incredibly close to reaching this goal!
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.
If you're in the middle of a panic attack right now or you're carrying the dread of the next one I want you to stay with me. I know what your body is doing right now and more importantly I know how to help it stop. You are not in danger. You are in chemistry and chemistry we can work with.
Welcome to calming anxiety. I'm Martin, a clinical hypnotherapist and former frontline paramedic. Every single day I'm here free for 10 minutes to help you understand what anxiety is doing inside your body and to guide it back to calm. If you're searching for panic attack help today you've found the right place.
There are over 2,300 episodes waiting for you in this library and every single one is free. So if this one helps please do go and subscribe because I'll be back here again tomorrow. Before we settle in today just thank you. Many of you know that I'm running a GoFundMe campaign to bring the calming anxiety app market mainly to the Apple ecosystem.
A friend set it up because I've never owned any Apple products before so it's purely to buy it an old MacBook so I can code on it. It's going well but just a little bit more and I'll be there. Thank you. If you do donate please send me the receipt too.
Hello at calminganxiety.org and claim your free premium lifetime membership. Thanks. Now find your quiet place today somewhere truly comfy where you won't be disturbed you can sit or lie down. Now if it's safe close your eyes.
Today we're going to work with a breathing technique that has one very specific addition. I want you to pay attention to what happens at the very top of the in breath. Your breathing slowly through your nose for 4 counts then just before you hold. I want you to take one extra small sip of air just a tiny top up a gentle expansion at the very top of your lungs.
That extra sip isn't just air it is a signal it stretches the lungs just that little bit further and it activates the vagus nerve more deeply which is the nerve that tells your entire nervous system that you are safe. Ready? Let's do this together. Breathe in 2, 3, 4 and the sip pull the two now out to 3, 4, 5, 6 and again in 2, 3, 4, sip pull 2 out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 one more time with me here we go in 2, 3, 4, sip pull 2 and all the way out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Platyxtended exhale is your vagal break every time you breathe out longer than you breathe in. You are physically pressing the pause button and your panic response. This is not a mind set trick. This is biology and you just used it.
Now let your breath find its own rhythm, natural and slow and I'd like you to imagine a place that you feel completely at ease. It might be somewhere you've been, a beach, a woodland path, a room in a house that you loved or it might be somewhere entirely imagined. A peaceful space for your mind but as it always carries you. See yourself there, feel the ground beneath your feet.
Notice what the light is doing, is it warm, is there a breeze, what can you hear? As you stand in this place I want you to notice something. Your body is completely still here, your heart is steady, your breathing is slow and even. There is nothing here that requires your nervous system to protect you, there is no threat, there is only this.
And I want you to understand something about the panic attack that brought you here today.
Your alarm system fired, it is desired to fire but it misfired. The threat it detected was a feeling, not a danger and feelings, unlike dangers, they pass, they always pass. So here in your quiet place you are simply letting that feeling complete its journey through the body. Take a wave that builds, it peeks and then it rolls back out to sea.
You don't fight it, you don't run from it, you simply let it move through.
See the wave, watch it, let it rise and as you exhale, feel it begin to pull back, back, until the surface of the water is calm again and you are standing still, safe, whole, unharmed.
In this moment of peace, see these words, I am safe in this moment.
The feeling is temporary, it always passes. My body is doing its job, I trust the process.
I am not in danger, I am in chemistry and chemistry changing.
I breathe in calm, I breathe out fear.
I am stronger than this feeling. I choose calm, right now in this breath, I choose calm.
Let those words settle into you now. Let the move pass the mind and into the body, into the muscles, into the breath, into the chest, every cell receiving that message of safety, there is nothing you need to do in this moment, except breathe and be here. The rest of the day will come, but right now this breath is all there is.
To keep you in a mindful balance state, here are your three daily caring tips. One, name it to tame it. When the spiral starts, say these words either out loud or in your mind, this is a panic response, it is not danger, it is chemistry. That single act of naming what is happening activates the rational brain and it begins to override the alarm signal.
You are not losing your mind, you are identifying a pattern and patterns can be interrupted. Two, the cold water reset. If you are able, run cold water over your wrists or splash your face. This triggers what is called the mammalian dive reflex, it is an ancient biological response that drops your heart rate within seconds.
It is not a distraction technique, it is physiological intervention, real, fast and free. And three, one thing at a time. Panic rushes your mind into the future to everything that might go wrong. Bring it back to right now with one simple task.
Find five things you can see, four that you can touch, three that you can hear, two that you can smell, and one that you can taste. This grounds you in the moment. Gently now, start to bring your awareness back into the room. Let your fingers and toes let your breath deepen naturally and when you are ready my friend, open your eye.
You did it, you breathed through it. That is not a small thing, that is everything. Now one small ask, if this session helped you find your feet again today, please share it with one other person who may need it today. One friend, one family member or a colleague who you think is quietly struggling.
You don't have to say much, just send them the episode. You might be the reason they found their way to calm. And if you are ready to go deeper and understand your anxiety at course, the anxiety circuit brake at course is waiting for you at calminganxiety.fm. Five sessions built around the clinical techniques I've used with real patients.
It's only $67, a permanent toolkit for life. I'll be back tomorrow. Smile always. Take care.
And in everything. Be kind.