PAN(ic)DEMIC - Why you are suddenly having anxiety/panic attacks & what to do about it.

 
If you’re feeling a bit on edge, check out some of the information and tips below.

If you’re feeling a bit on edge, check out some of the information and tips below.

PAN(ic)DEMIC - Why you are suddenly having anxiety/panic attacks & what to do about it. (revised & expanded)


Context: This article is written for people who are stuck/isolated/struggling due to continued restrictions related to COVID-19, but who are also relatively safe (secure housing, access to medical care, are vaccinated, able to work from home, etc.). If you are at risk of losing your job/home, still have to go to work in a physical location where transmission is high, and/or do not have access to the vaccine/medical care, this article might sound unhelpful/condescending. Feel free to take what’s helpful but maybe just skip it. 


It’s a wild time to be a therapist in Southeast Asia. Lots of my clients, friends, and acquaintances are not okay. That’s to be expected. However, a lot of my folks are usually very high functioning people with at least some relative privilege and power to influence the situations around them. However, right now those same people are currently unable to change or impact their situations. As anyone who has ever been discriminated against will tell you, being tossed around by circumstances out of your control  is hard! It causes stress! Even those of us who are used to dealing with chronic stress because of who we are, may still struggle with this new level of chronic situational stress. 


If you didn’t already know your mind and body are connected. If there isn’t anything our mind can do with the stress, it might hand it over to the body. (For more on this, you might want to check out “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk) When our bodies hit a critical amount of stress, the system has to find a way to get rid of it. This will likely start as distraction or muscle tension. Maybe you can’t focus on your TV show or book. Maybe you are stiff or your back hurts. Every person holds their stress differently. I like to think of it as our bodies trying to get our attention. When we STILL aren’t able to reduce the stress, the body amps up its cries for help. Hence, the panic attack out of nowhere. Racing heart, feeling of impending doom, shallow breathing or hard to breathe - yeah that’s not fun. These attacks can even wake you from sleep, when your conscious defenses might be lower.


They are super scary, but mostly they are scary if you don’t know what is happening or why. Think about it this way - panic attacks are your body asking you for help. To think about it another way, here is a very specific reference, but if you can relate, it totally explains my point. Sometimes deer accidentally break into houses because they don’t really understand glass, fences, humans living on their land, or what to do about it. Once inside they get real scared and start running around and breaking stuff. They don’t really mean any harm, they are just trying to escape. This havok lasts for a few minutes, but they either find a way out or exhaust themselves and are then able to accept human help to get out. They aren’t bad, they are just having a natural reaction to an unnatural situation.


So let me drop some knowledge about how you can help care for yourself/the deer within.


Ways stress can present:


Some reasons you might be experiencing more stress than usual:

  • Knocked down the rungs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to safety tier

  • Less exercise

  • Body’s routine is all out of whack

  • Overexposure to negative media

  • Logically you are making sense of it, but emotionally you might not be tuning into everything that is going on for you.

  • You are interacting with people all over the world who are in different circumstances, and maybe don’t understand what your life is like right now.

Let’s not forget-

  • There’s a global pandemic happening

  • The rest of your usual stress hasn’t gone anywhere



What to do about a panic or anxiety attack:

In the moment:

  • There’s an app for that, open it. Read more below in prevention.

  • Take deep, controlled breaths. This will help move the adrenaline and cortisol through your system as well as stretch out your diaphragm and abdominal muscles, which have tensed up in response to the adrenaline/cortisol.

  • Remind yourself this will pass - Most panic attacks hit their peak within 15 minutes. You only have to get through 15 minutes and you are very likely to start to feel better after that.

  • Until that 15 minutes is up, you won’t be able to do much else. Focus on breathing. If you feel able, you can try to do some stretches, massage your body, or ask your partner to massage your body if that feels safe. 

  • As you start to feel a little better you might try

    • Talking about or journaling about your feelings to help yourself process them - be really kind to yourself.

    • Read a relaxing book or watch an enjoyable TV show - no thrillers or tear jerkers!

    • Engage your senses - have a nice cup of decaf tea, warm bath, put on some lotion, light a candle or spray a scent you enjoy

  • If the panic feeling returns, stop what you’re doing and return to your breathing.


To prevent them:

  • Maybe check out some apps and see which ones you like. There are TONS of mental health apps out there. Here’s a list of apps that can help with deep breathing, panic attacks, and more. Not on this list, but I really like SAMApp for adults and Rootd for teens. 

  • Redo your schedule and stick to it.

    • Make sure you draw lines between work and home time

  • Exercise

    • I know this totally sucks for some of us, but even yoga, stretching, or dance parties to your favorite 90s jams counts.

  • Mind your consumption

    • I know, a total bummer, but alcohol, terrible food, cigarettes, and the like all impact your body. Since your body is already stressed, too much of these can cause more issues than usual. 

    • The science has become super clear - Diet and Depression - totally linked.

  • Reconnect with friends/loved ones

    • Arrange a video call with people you miss (I know, but video calls with people you like don’t suck nearly as much as office meeting video calls)

    • Play an online game together

  • Make some room for your emotions

    • Scream into a pillow - Yeah, it’s totally fine, go ahead.

    • Meditate

    • Journal 

      • If you don’t know how to journal...Yes, you do. Stop being a perfectionist. Just write down words. You can even type them or record your voice. There is power in turning your thoughts/emotions into actual words outside of your mind/body. Seriously. Humans are very bad at following a thought all the way til the end. We get distracted. Our brain lingers and repeats unfinished thoughts, which causes stress! So write that sucker down.

    • Talk to a trusted friend or therapist. Let it all out of your heart

  • Set limits on your media/social media consumption

  • Create and remind yourself of balanced thoughts - do not shame/blame yourself for feeling bad. You feel bad and you are lucky. Bad and good things have happened to you. All these things are true. At the same time.

    • Acknowledge the lows

    • Acknowledge your privileges

    • Acknowledge that even after doing all the things on the list you basically still feel the same and life is just kind of hard right now

    • If you want a worksheet for this. Here you go, but it’s long so don’t open it when you are feeling overwhelmed.

  • Reconnect with your values and what’s important to you.

    • I gave a short talk on this for the US Mission in Vietnam.

  • Take it easy on yourself and remember what it is you NEED to do right now


Whew! I wrote a lot more than I planned to and this is just the bare bones! Like I said, these are complicated times! Slow down and take care of you. If you have other resources you would like to share, feel free to do so in the comments or send them to me at drfaefrederick@gmail.com. I wish you and yours all the best. Remember it’s okay to not be okay AND it’s okay to ask for help. 


Dr. Fae

has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. She lives abroad and offers online therapy & clinical supervision. In her individual therapy practice, she specializes in value alignment, existential questions, decision making, and general coping to increase overall life satisfaction. Her online self-study course Deepening & Developing Connections is always available.

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