Note to Self: A Simple Strategy for Panic Attacks
Write yourself a note, from past you to future you: "You are having a panic attack. It will pass. You aren't in danger. You'll be okay."
One of the most helpful strategies I've come across for managing a panic attack falls under what is called "Cope Ahead" in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).
This is the idea of prepping ahead of time to manage difficult moments. This allows you to utilize higher level thinking, like planning and decision making.
When you're having a panic attack, you can't access your higher-level thinking (your PFC, or prefrontal cortex). Instead, your fear center (amygdala) takes over.
Because your nervous system thinks that you're facing a dire threat, it ramps up an emergency response: it sends the heart racing, wants to empty the stomach and bladder, and primes the muscles for action. There is one goal: SURVIVE!
These are early-human responses. You might as well be wrestling an alligator. Your nervous system, in the moment, can't tell the difference.
