It's an easy way to counteract the adrenaline that's causing the attack.
By Catriona Harvey-Jenner, Cosmopolitan
Panic attacks can be scary. Physical symptoms can include a palpitating heart, a feeling of being unable to breathe, intense sweating, a trembling body and more. But according to one expert, there's a very simple way you can calm your body's anxiety response down so it no longer believes you're in danger.
Speaking to Hello Giggles, intuitive counsellor and therapist Jodi Aman shared her advice, which is a means of counteracting the adrenaline released as part of the 'fight or flight' response you experience during a panic attack.
"Don't stay still," Jodi said. "Doing something changes the chemicals in the brain, it releases the GABA hormone that puts the breaks on the adrenaline."
The GABA hormone is a neurotransmitter more formally known as Gamma-aminobutyric acid. It aids the transportation of messages between the brain and the nervous system, and reduces the activity of nerve cells in the nervous system - hence its ability to calm an anxiety attack. In fact, many anti-anxiety medicines work by triggering your brain's receptors to release more GABA.
But simply getting up and moving about can also help increase the production of the hormone, Jodi advises. According to the expert, there are also simple ways of outsmarting your brain during a panic attack so it no longer believes you are in imminent threat of danger.
"If you find yourself panicking, and you cognitively see that you are literally physically safe, (i.e. no scary animal charging at you), you have to say, 'I'm safe. This feeling is just hormones. They'll go away if I remember I am safe.'" Jodi suggested. "Panic insinuates a greater intensity, so sometimes it is harder, but this is always the thing that finally calms people down. So it is doable," she added.
I guess it can't hurt to try next time you experience a panic attack.
See more at: Cosmopolitan
Speaking to Hello Giggles, intuitive counsellor and therapist Jodi Aman shared her advice, which is a means of counteracting the adrenaline released as part of the 'fight or flight' response you experience during a panic attack.
"Don't stay still," Jodi said. "Doing something changes the chemicals in the brain, it releases the GABA hormone that puts the breaks on the adrenaline."
The GABA hormone is a neurotransmitter more formally known as Gamma-aminobutyric acid. It aids the transportation of messages between the brain and the nervous system, and reduces the activity of nerve cells in the nervous system - hence its ability to calm an anxiety attack. In fact, many anti-anxiety medicines work by triggering your brain's receptors to release more GABA.
But simply getting up and moving about can also help increase the production of the hormone, Jodi advises. According to the expert, there are also simple ways of outsmarting your brain during a panic attack so it no longer believes you are in imminent threat of danger.
"If you find yourself panicking, and you cognitively see that you are literally physically safe, (i.e. no scary animal charging at you), you have to say, 'I'm safe. This feeling is just hormones. They'll go away if I remember I am safe.'" Jodi suggested. "Panic insinuates a greater intensity, so sometimes it is harder, but this is always the thing that finally calms people down. So it is doable," she added.
I guess it can't hurt to try next time you experience a panic attack.
See more at: Cosmopolitan
