Anxiety Out of Nowhere: Managing Sudden Anxiety
Have you ever been minding your own business, not thinking of anything stressful in particular and out of the blue you’re hit with a sudden panic attack or episode of heightened anxiety? It could look something like this:
You’re out with friends at a restaurant, nothing out of the ordinary seems to be happening, but all of a sudden your heart starts racing, you get short of breath, your mind is racing and you have an urge to just get out of there as fast as you can.
These experiences can be extremely confusing and frightening. We often expect panic attacks to be logical and be connected to an easily identifiable source.
The Nervous System Picks up on Cues
It’s helpful to look at the nervous system and how it detects and determines safety. Our bodies are constantly gathering information from both our external environment, as well as cues and information from within the body and mind. This happens without our conscious awareness. We don’t have to think about it or tell our bodies to do it, it just does it automatically. The amygdala is a part of the brain that is often described as the brain’s alarm system. When information comes in through these different sources, the amygdala will determine whether or not to sound the alarm to the rest of the body. It does this by releasing hormones that prepare the body for fight or flight (hence the heart rate, sweating and other panic symptoms).
Amygdala Based Anxiety Isn’t Logical
Sometimes the amygdala receives it’s information from the cortex (when we think about something frightening like being rejected). This is often easier to understand because we can see a clear connection between the scary thought and the anxiety response. But sometimes it receives it’s information directly from our senses and body experiences, which we are often unaware of.
The Amygdala Pairs Things
There are some things the amygdala recognizes as threatening naturally without having to be taught (an oncoming car, a large spider or snake) and there are some things that are learned from experience. The amygdala is great at pairing experiences. For example, if someone smells a certain perfume at the time of experiencing a trauma, the amygdala will pair the two and when it detects the same scent through the senses, it will alert the body of danger. The amygdala may pair things like smells, emotions, body sensations, sounds, visual cues and other subtle cues that it associates with danger.
Tip: Body Based Calming
A while back, I shared some tips on how to approach anxiety that originates from our thoughts, but how do you address anxiety that originates with the body? For this type of anxiety, it’s important to start there: with the body. Here are a few tips.
Prevention:
Get good sleep. Lack of sleep impacts the amygdala and can make it more reactive and sensitive to cues. It is so important to get quality, uninterrupted sleep so your brain and body can get the restoration they need to function optimally.
In the Moment:
Think movement and breath. An anxiety response comes with a surge of energy for the purpose of survival, even if our survival isn’t really threatened. Engaging the body in physical movement can be a helpful way to discharge that energy.
Using long, deep, slow breaths can also be a way to send a cue of safety back to the nervous system. When we are anxious, we often take short, shallow breaths. Instead, try breathing in for the count of 4, holding it to a count of 4 and breathing out to a count of 6. Making the exhale longer than the inhale will help make sure you are fully breathing out before taking another breath in, which can lead to that feeling of breathlessness.
Therapy
Therapy can be an effective option for anxiety, especially a model called Eposure and Response Prevention, or ERP. This approach helps change the brain by rewiring patterns of threat-response and teaching the amygdala that certain triggers are not dangerous.
I would love to hear if you have any go-to strategies for dealing with sudden, out of the blue anxiety episodes!
