My Panic Attack Survival Kit

So you don’t have to struggle like I did.

I’m coming to you live from my couch with a weighted stuffed animal on my lap atop the dreamiest barefoot dreams blanket. My hair is in a very messy bun on top of my head and I’m sitting cross-legged, leaning on my red light panel with more weight than I probably should be putting on it. I have a cozy candle lit, frequencies playing softly in the background, and 3 beverages within arms length just in case I need them.

Welcome to - my panic attack survival kit.

Pinterest via @flumavi

This post may feel different from my others because I’m writing it in the midst of calming down from the nervous system glitch I thought I no longer needed to navigate.

I used to get panic attacks all the time. If you haven’t ever had one, I don’t wish it upon you. If you have, I both wish for you to never have one again and at the same time, I see you, I feel you, I understand you, and I deeply empathize with you.

Today, I’m not going to go in depth on what a panic attack feels like, where it comes from, and how my experience with having them has been in the past…. mainly because I’m still in the midst of getting out of one. We’ll save that share for a rainy day (although it was indeed pouring in LA all week long, today was quite sunny…. so let’s do our best to keep it that way.)

What I am here to share with you, from my 8x more relaxed state as compared to 1 hour ago, is my panic attack survival kit.

I tend to be quite a theatrical storyteller and would love to expand upon the hours of endless shakes, full-body numbness, midnight walks & trips to the hospital.. but like I said, right now I’m trying to calm down, not go back into a state of panic.. so for today.. let’s just talk survival, coping & calming the system.

ALAS, WELCOME TO THE MAGIC THAT IS MY PANIC ATTACK SURVIVAL KIT:

Here are some key ingredients in my kit (in no particular order) that help stop crippling panic attacks and soothe your nervous system when it’s begging for a break:

1. Red light therapy

2. Weighted Stuffed Animal (Hugz are my favorite & right now I’m cuddling the limited edition purple turtle )

3. Contrast therapy shower

4. Healing Frequencies (typically 528 hz or a dedicated panic attack meditation)

5. 5 things method

6. Phone a friend

7. Favorite comfort movie

8. Soothing Walk

9. Hugs (if accessible)

10. Slow breathing (4-6 Method)

11. L-theanine / calming meds

12. Hydration & Electrolytes

13. Warm Tea

14. Essential Oils

As someone who struggled to find a way out for years and had to do A LOT of experimenting to create my kit, I am so excited to be able to share it with you today. I would’ve been so grateful to have access to this knowledge a long time ago.

Even though I may not be in my best state this evening, I wanted to share it with you in hopes it might help you, or just one person who comes across it when they need it most.

I used to have crippling panic attacks that would take over my entire body for hours that felt absolutely uncontrollable. Through the above saviors, that is no longer the case. I wish I could tell you that I don’t get them anymore at all, but I’m a human and life can be hard.. so that wouldn’t be true.

It’s learning how to navigate, and being able to access the tools, that will truly make the biggest impact for you, as it has for me too.

Every single thing in the above list helps to calm the body, mind, soul & spirit. They all help to regulate and reset the nervous system too. They each have their own unique role in helping to get you back to baseline, so please try them out and see what sticks for you.

I LOVE an Erewhon combo plate (I know, I know.. we all do) and I adore a nice combo with my anxiety-reducing and panic-eliminating methods too.

MY METHOD:

The moment I notice the feeling rush over me (if you know, you know), I start focusing on my breath. It doesn’t always work, but often times, especially when it’s not too bad and there’s still room to catch it before it takes over, that alone will help me return back to baseline… or at least avoid going directly into what feels like full panic mode.

The 4-6 method works wonderfully for me, but I do believe many controlled and concentrated slow breathing methods will likely help calm your system. For this one, you breathe in slowly for 4 and breathe out slowly for 6. The long exhale helps tell your nervous system you are safe so your body and mind can start to calm down. Calm breaths may sound simple (and potentially difficult especially mid panic) but they make a world of difference, especially when the shallow breathing that so often accompanies anxiety can end up making it much worse.

If the breathing doesn’t suffice after giving it a proper shot, that’s when I tend to fall deep into the sensations of the ever dreadful panic attack. This is the disassociation, numbness, intense fear, scary body sensations, uncontrollable shaking, and all that jazz.

Unfortunately this part you often need to let yourself go through for a bit until it feels even just a tiny bit possible to begin moving past it. Once you find yourself even just 1% calmer, you likely will return to the desire to truly calm down again (rather than focusing on the panic) and alas move on to the next step of my survival kit.

Something that helped me most when my anxiety was at its peak was always contrast showers. I’m a big fan of contrast therapy myself in my day to day as a method to detox and keep my nervous system regulated. When I’m in the middle of a panic attack? It’s not just regulating, but feels truly life-saving.

The combination of hot and cold water (I tend to do 30 seconds each and switch off between the two for as long as I need) alongside the grounding sensation of the water upon your skin and upon your scalp automatically sends signals to your system that you are indeed safe to calm down. The contrast of the hot and cold helps to reduce inflammation in the body, calm down the vagus nerve, and bring your back to homeostasis, before the panic began. This one has been a LIFE-SAVER FOR ME.. especially when I was really sick with Lyme.

Pinterest Via @wazdrys

As I take my shower, I put on Insight Timer or Spotify and play healing frequencies. Insight Timer has panic attack meditations and over 200,000 meditations you can choose from based on what you’re going through which is absolutely incredible.. but when you’re in that kind of state.. choosing sometimes feels impossible… so I always return to my tried and true 528 hz. The frequency of love truly does heal all and has been something that has soothed me and put me back to sleep on my worst of nights.

Frequencies are so beautifully healing and such a gift, I highly recommend they not be overlooked.

Next, I usually feel myself beginning to calm down, even if my heart still finds itself beating a bit too fast. This is when I put on my coziest clothes, grab my barefoot dreams blanket, cuddle up on my weighted stuff animal (which today happens to be a Hugz purple turtle) and breathe.

Through all of this, I make sure to hydrate with as many healing beverages as I can.. and ensure to include electrolytes.. my favorite ones are LMNT and lately I’ve been loving the citrus flavor. Hydration helps calm the nervous system and get you back to baseline.

Next up, I plug in my red light panel, mine happens to be vital red light, but there are a few really good brands out there I trust. I then close my eyes, continue breathing, keep hydrating, play my frequencies, and lean up against my panel for as long as I need. When I’m in states of panic, it tends to be longer than usual, but anywhere from 10-30 minutes usually does the trick.

The above was the start of today’s remedy.. alongside a quick FaceTime to my mama, long hugs, a blood-sugar balancing meal (my favorite Italian salmon with rice and veggies) and putting on my comfort show.

Depending on when the panic hits, these 5 methods tend to help me most too:

My 5 things method I suppose I also did when the feeling of panic arrived today. That’s typically what I pair with my slow breathing, but needs seem to change over time.

My 5 things method absolutely changed my life back when my anxiety was at its highest levels… and it goes like this:

When you find yourself staring to shake or in a very heightened state… immediately activate the 5 things method. Name out loud or in your head 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can taste and 1 thing you can smell. Repeat as needed.

What I’ll often do is pick a category, for example.. today in the shower, I found myself getting more panicked so I looked around and started thinking about 5 things I could see (body wash, the floor tiles, my razor, the door handle, the Jolie shower filter) and so on. It helps get your brain focused on something else other than the panic itself and sensations associated.

This method is especially nice when you’re surrounded by cozy blankets and textured things. Texture realllllllllly eases anxiety I’ve noticed. Keep that at the top of your mind.

Pinterest via @cozycalmstudio

If you have access to a hug, definitely reach for it. Hugs heal and just being held can sometimes be enough to tell your nervous system that you are indeed safe. Hugging yourself, hugging your blankets and hugging your (weighted) stuffed animals absolutely works too if you don’t have access to a human to hug.

Pinterest via @goldrushings

Now one of my favorites is the phone a friend.. but it’s the one I tend to leave to last resort (for fear of being a burden or adding weight to someone’s day.. which it never really does by the way…..) I suppose my phone a friend today was a phone my mom.. but believe me, it works. Even just a few minutes on the phone with someone you love can help you to regulate quite quickly and remind you that you are indeed not alone and you will get through this.

When it’s an emergency… and literally none of the above do it, walking usually is the missing puzzle piece. Moving my body has always made me feel better my entire life and I always wondered why. Those 10k a day steps you probably hear about much too often aren’t just for staying fit. The science behind walking is that it actually resets your nervous system, helps regulate blood flow, and introduces bilateral stimulation (left, right, left, right). This helps to calm your amygdala and helps your brain process, rather than spiral. It allows you to literally move through it.

Pinterest via @Kianarabram

When you return from that walk, what better to soothe you and calm you enough to sleep than your favorite comfort movie or comfort show. My pick usually includes Friends or anything Pixar-related.. both tend to do their job quite well in calming my system and making me feel safe enough to return to normalcy or sleep.

Pinterest via @kresven

I am mentioning meds last, because although I am in full support of taking them as needed (when prescribed), I usually try to use them as a last resort. They exist for a reason and if you suffer from crippling panic attacks like I do, you deserve help in whatever way you can find it.

Medicine has been a savior for me on the days that nothing worked, but I’ve found that since implementing these methods and putting together my panic attack survival kit, I’ve needed to resort to it much less. L-theanine is a beautiful natural option as a supplement you can take regularly to help keep your system calm! I happen to love it.. I sadly don’t react super well to ashwagandha or magnesium but both tend to help people a lot too and might be a savior for you.

I also love essential oils to calm the system. Lavender is my favorite and putting some lavender oil on my wrists and making a hot chamomile tea tends to be the cherry on top of stopping a panic attack in its tracks and returning to calm.

Pinterest via @bluemountin

There you have it!!! My panic attack survival kit. I hope this helps you in a way I wish it could’ve helped me when I was struggling quietly.

You deserve calm, you deserve peace, you deserve joy and you deserve help. It’s ok to ask for help when we are struggling. We are all here to lift each-other up when life gets hard, you don’t have to do it all alone.

So while today I may have had a panic attack, that just makes room for a calmer and lighter tomorrow.

No matter what you’re feeling or where you are in your life, please know you can always come back to your breath and return to this piece to remember how to calm down whenever you need it.

You are safe, you are protected, you are loved and everything is going to be okay even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. This too shall pass, it always does. You’ve overcome your hardest days and you will get through this one too. I love you and I’m so grateful you’re here on this beautiful planet at the same time as me! What a gift!

Thank you for reading my words and thank you for being here. If you’d like to support my dreams of becoming a full-time writer, please subscribe above. We are 550 strong as of today and we’re up to 10 paid subscribers! It’s been a big week for Feelings, Unfiltered.

Also, today we hit a milestone of becoming #79 in rising pages in Health & Wellness!!!!!!!!! How major is that!! My first major moment of recognition on the app side of things and it feels really rewarding and beautiful. Don’t forget to always celebrate your milestones, big and small!!

I adore you and everything is going to be more than okay.

With love and an aura of light,

Alexa 💡

P.S. ❤️, comment, subscribe and please share if this resonated. Even if this piece helps one person through their hardest night, It’ll have been worth sharing as I navigate through one of my hard ones.

P.P.S. Here are a few more pieces I’ve written I think you might like:

Feelings I Wanted To Filter Week 5: Letting Love Back In

One Mindset Shift To Get The Life You Want

Why You To Pencil In Time For Some Silly Fun