Anxiety and Panic, Fallout from today’s high stress world. “I Never used to be this way. This isn’t me. My heart is ponding. I can’t focus on my work. I don’t want people to know. I don’t like this feeling it isn’t me. My mind won’t stop. I can’t sleep. Help me, please just make it go away.”
As a psych nurse I deal with anxiety and panic disorders that have become debilitating. For some the anxiety is deep rooted stemming far back into childhood. For others it is a direct result of PTSD as is frequently seen in severe trauma victims and in combat veterans. These situations can be extreme and require multiple approaches to stabilize the individual as they work to neutralize the initial incident that caused and is still causing trauma reactions in their lives.
A Tsunami wave of anxiety and panic attacks is on the rise over seemingly small but reoccurring issues. Anxiety about relationships, and job stress are two major sources of anxiety and panic. As a nurse, I frequently am asked for “anxiety medication”. And as a nurse I have observed that medication is a short-term Band-Aid that does not fix the underlying problem. Counseling and extensive therapy are sometimes needed but they only work if the individual eventually is willing to “actively” face their issues. It has been my observation that a huge part of anxiety and panic is two-fold, one the feeling of having no control, of not being able to do anything about it. And two, the lack of self-acceptance, of no longer feeling comfortable within oneself. It is my belief that part of the solution, starts with taking small steps that give us back control and small steps that allow us to look inward and become accepting and comfortable with ourselves again.
As a yoga teacher I am frequently asked, “Will yoga help me with my anxiety.” The answer is a qualified yes. Yes, doing yoga on a regular basis will help with anxiety but during a panic attack, I recommend breathing techniques to give immediate relief. It is something you can do immediately, and is completely within your control. The breath affects the physical body. Long slow exhales thru the mouth, like blowing out a straw, will activate the Vagus nerve that will immediately signal the body to relax by lowering heart rate and blood pressure. A long slow exhale signals the Vagus nerve to turn off the adrenaline and cortisone surging thru the body. Cortisone and adrenaline are an anxiety reaction from stimulation of the Fight or Flight response found in panic. Engaging your breath, slowing the exhale gives you control and allow you to stop the Fight or Flight response.
The breath gives us a window of relief which allows us to step out of fear long enough to engage in other more active actions that can further reduce our initial panic and give us back some control. Going outside, taking a shower, playing music, engaging in a sport, running, shooting hoops and YES Yoga!!! Yoga, engages the breath with the movement of the body. The Yogic breath stimulates the Vagus Nerve continuing the process of reducing stress. I highly recommend whenever possible doing yoga outside where you can engage Nature into your yoga for deeper more effective results. Nature allows us to ground, to remove the focus from the racing mind, and effectively bring it back into a calmer body.
Eventually though one must address the underlying problem. With courage we must face our issues and take action. Small actions initially, larger more definitive actions later, when those actions can be carefully thought out and acted upon constructively. What and how we carry out those actions are specific to the individual and their personal issues. Those actions are the subject for another time.
For now, let’s look at How and Why Yoga can help overcome anxiety and panic.
When we become highly distressed, people get caught up in their fearful thoughts and lose touch or even run from the sensations of their physical body. Chronic high anxiety tends to result in a self hate reactionary chain. Part of that response is running away from the body and identifying only with the racing panic thoughts of the mind. Yoga gets us back in touch with our bodies thru awareness of physical sensation. We learn to accept what we are feeling and recognize it’s constantly changing nature. As we stretch, we feel a flow of sensations. For people with chronic anxiety it is not uncommon to shut off all physical feelings. It is important to get out of their thoughts and back in touch with their physical body. They need to learn how to feel again. Some of those sensations are pleasurable, some things are easy and we feel strong and healthy and in command of our body. At other times the stretches push us into our edge, into the limits of our physical body comfort zone. Then we feel weak and shaky, start to doubt and second guess ourselves. By staying in the present moment and recognizing the raw sensation without judgement, we learn that all of these sensations are temporary. The sensations come and go. We learn that having a sensation does not equate to who we are. We learn that it is ok and normal to have a mix of sensations, a mix of feelings. In time, we recognize that where once we had difficulty and uncertainty with a posture, now we have progressed and feel a sense of accomplishment, increased flexibility and strength. This gives us encouragement to continue on.
While the increased physical flexibility and strength is an obvious benefit of yoga, the real benefit is that we learn to know ourselves. Thru the process of the mind watching the body, we learn about our thoughts and emotions and come to realize that thoughts and emotions are temporary just as physical sensation is temporary. Physical sensations, thoughts and emotions all come and go. Regular yoga practice puts us in touch with the inner world of who we are. We get to know that we are not our physical body sensations, and we are not our racing thoughts. Nor are we our emotional swings. Instead we are the awareness observing all of that. As we discover this self-awareness, we realize that this awareness is very calm, very peaceful and very supportive. We discover our own worthiness. We discover that we really like this person inside of us. We grow stronger as an individual, more confident in ourselves. With regular yoga practice we begin to recognize what compliments us, what allows us to flow in life, and what things conflict and constrain our lives. We can then make positive supportive choices.
Because life is a process, there will be those occasions when anxiety sneaks up on us. But with yoga we are better able to recognize it quickly check it before it takes over and creates panic and chaos in our lives. Yoga loosens the emotional grip trauma has on us buying us time to make conscious responses in dealing with the actual problem. We gradually are able to shift from uncontrolled reaction to controlled action.
There is a popular saying amongst yogis. “Breathe just breathe”. Feel the wave of sensation the breath creates. Let your mind ride on the breath as it moves thru the body. Yoga is the awareness of the body, the mind and the breath all flowing together like a wave rolling in and out of the shore. A calm, peaceful “rightness” emerges. So Yes, Yoga can help with anxiety. There are choices in styles of yoga, some are better suited than others. My favorite, Yoga Nidra, is an excellent fit for releasing stress and anxiety. Having taught Yoga Nidra for years both in the hospital acute care setting as well as in the private setting of yoga classes, I have observed the healing effectiveness of Yoga Nidra. I encourage you to make Yoga a part of your stress management program to combat anxiety.
Susan Fritz, RN
Currently working in Psychiatric Nursing with Emotional Pain Management, Anxiety and Addiction