Hi there, and welcome. I'm Martin, and this is calming anxiety.
Ten minutes that belong to you.
Before we begin though, I built something I'd love your help with.
It's called Anchored, the whole of this library, every meditation in one calm place on your phone.
It's now open for early testing, and you can be one of the very first inside.
There's a link right at the top of today's show notes.
Just tap to join, have a wander around, and let me know what you think.
Your feedback genuinely shapes what it becomes.
Now, today we're going to do one simple thing together.
We're going to stop the panic attack now.
Gently, using nothing but your breath.
If you're in the middle of one, as you listen, you're in exactly the right place.
You don't have to do anything at all, except stay with me.
We'll breathe together in a moment.
Wherever you are, sitting, standing, lying down, you don't need to change a thing.
Just let your eyes soften, or close them if that feels safe, and let's begin.
Here is the one thing I want you to know.
In all my years working as a frontline paramedic, the fastest way I ever saw a racing body settled was never the breath in.
It was always the breath out.
The long, slow, breath out.
When your out breath is longer than your in breath, you press a physical break inside your own nervous system.
Your heart begins to slow.
Your body receives the message it was been waiting for.
The danger has passed.
So let's do it together.
Breathe in gently through your nose.
Then, pause at the top, and then the part that matters.
Breathe out, slow, and long.
Through soft lips, let's do it with my count.
Ready?
Breathe in.
Two, three, four, pause.
Breathe out.
Two, three, four, five, six.
This is guided meditation breathing to release panic.
Again, in through the nose, two, three, four, hold, and out longer.
Two, three, four, five, six.
And again, in, two, three, four, hold, release, two, three, four, five, six.
Each out breath, turning down the alarm, just another notch.
Panic lives in a clenched body.
So let's loosen it one place at a time, keeping that long out breath going underneath.
Let's start at your jaw.
Let it unhinge just a little.
Let your tongue rest away from the roof of your mouth.
Drop your shoulders down, away from your ears now.
They've been holding on.
Let them go.
Now your hands, uncurl your fingers.
Let them lie open and heavy.
And finally, your belly.
Let it be soft.
So the next breath can drop all the way down.
Notice what's already different.
The peak has passed.
It always does.
A body simply cannot hold panic at full height.
It has to come down.
And it is coming down now.
With you, breath by breath.
Relax and unwind.
I'm here with you now.
And then within this moment of calm, with every out breath, allow these words to settle.
You can say them silently in your thoughts or whisper them softly on your tongue.
This feeling is big and I can handle it.
I have felt this before and I have come through every single time.
Right here, right now.
I'm already beginning to steady.
Every breath out is turning my alarm down.
This will pass and it is already passing.
And now focus on the feeling in and around your chest with every out breath, that sense of relief.
I used to suffer too from panic attacks and although I still get those early feelings through these techniques, I have controlled them.
And that simply is why this exists.
So believe in who you are.
And let these words now settle even deeper, becoming part of the fabric of your subconscious.
This feeling is big and I can handle it.
I have felt this before and I have come through every single time.
Right here, right now.
I am already beginning to steady.
Every breath out is turning my alarm down.
This will pass and it is already passing.
Now feel your breathing again.
Count the in breath, pause at the top and then a long slow out breath.
Regaining control, rebuilding, your strength, your focus, your clarity.
And then take with you the three day caring tips for a calmer, more controlled life.
One, your pocket break, the long out breath goes everywhere you go.
You don't need an app, a quiet room or anyone to notice in a meeting on a train in the supermarket queue.
Breathe in for four, hold out for six.
It's the one tool that's always with you.
Two, cool the system.
If panic is surging, splash cold water on your face or run it over your wrists.
Back cold triggers a natural calming reflex in the body.
The same one that slows the heart.
It's a genuine physiological shortcut, not a distraction.
Three, be gentle afterwards.
A panic attack is exhausting.
It's a full adrenaline surge.
When it passes, treat yourself the way you treat someone you love who has just been through it.
Think warm and not one word of criticism.
You came through, that's enough.
Now gently bring your awareness back into the space around you.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Take a deep breath in and then as you exhale stretch out the muscles in your arms and legs.
And then softly open your eye.
If these ten minutes helped you even a little, here's the kindest thing you could do.
Share it.
Someone you know is fighting this quietly today and a single post, a link, a quick message,
could put how to stop a panic attack into their heads at the exact moment they need it.
Share it on your social media.
Tag me and I'll see it.
I read everyone.
Take care today please.
You did something brave now.
I'll be right here tomorrow.
This has been calming anxiety.
Smile whenever you can.
Positive thoughts and to your soul be kind.