The ObservatoryPanic's false alarm
Your heart races, your chest tightens, something is terribly wrong, yet nothing is. How panic works, and why it's harmless.
Few experiences feel as life-threatening as a panic attack. Your heart pounds as if it will burst, the air runs out, you feel dizzy, and a voice in your head says: I'm dying, I'm going crazy, I'm losing control. Many people go to the emergency room, and are told that everything looks normal.
What happened is a false alarm. Your body's alarm system, the same one meant to save you from real danger, has gone off without an outer threat. Everything frightening is the system's NORMAL functioning: your heart races to pump blood to your muscles, your breathing speeds up to take in oxygen, the dizziness comes from the fast breathing, the feeling of unreality from the brain reprioritizing. None of it is dangerous. It's a fire drill without a fire. If you have chest pain or shortness of breath for the first time, or you're unsure whether it's your heart, get it checked: call 1177 (Sweden's healthcare advice line), or 112 (emergency number) if it's urgent.
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Why does it work?
The physiology of a panic attack as a false alarm, and the role of anxiety sensitivity in maintaining panic disorder, are well established (Clark 1986 cognitive model of panic; Reiss/Taylor on anxiety sensitivity). CBT for panic disorder has very strong support (meta-analyses show large effects). Psychoeducation about harmlessness is an effective core component.
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Surf the wave
When a craving or an impulse washes over you, learn to ride out the wave instead of fighting it.
Session7 minExamine a thought
Take a thought that weighs on you and examine it as a hypothesis: what speaks for it, what speaks against it, and what a more accurate version would say.
Exercise10 minThink the thought through
Worry always bails out at the worst part and leaves you there. This time you follow the thought all the way, until it loses its force.