If you have read through my blog “10 of my favorite anxiety management tools” you know that ice is one of my favorite ways to stop a panic attack at the onset. But how does it work?
When I first began having panic attacks in January of 2021, I didn’t know anything about them. In fact, it wasn't until my second hospital visit and numerous tests later that the doctors told me that I was fine- just have anxiety and possibly panic disorder. Up until these experiences, I thought panic attacks were just hyperventilating and breathing in and out of a bag (like in the movies). I had no idea that the panic manifests physically causing very scary reactions. Ultimately, I realized I knew very little about the difference between panic attacks and anxiety. So I got my detective cap on and started researching.
“Theoretically, panic disorder and agoraphobia pathology can be conceptualized as a cascade of dynamically changing defensive responses to threat cues from inside the body.” (1)
When your body begins down the spiral of a panic attack, your brain actually switches from your resting state (parasympathetic) to your “flight or fight” (sympathetic) state. Your sympathetic nervous system takes over, releasing adrenaline and other stress hormones that cause physical responses that are designed to protect you. This would be great if you were being chased by a lion- but when you aren’t... it sucks.
A great way to stop this reaction from heightening is by activating your parasympathetic nervous system which is your body's regulation system. This system helps regulate your basic bodily functions like temperature, digestion etc. One way to do this is by shocking your body with something cold. During the midst of a panic attack, it gives your brain something else to focus on like regulating body temp. This essentially shocks your parasympathetic nervous system into taking over again, eventually calming you down.
When explaining to my therapist ways I help walk myself down from a panic attack, she noted that I was stimulating my Vagus nerve. You may have heard about the Vagus nerve. This nerve is one of the longest nerves in your body, running from your brain to your large intestine. It is the main nerve in your parasympathetic nervous system(3). Remember, the "rest and digest" system? Essentially, stimulating your Vagus nerve is activating your parasympathetic nervous system.
3 Ways to stimulate your Vagus Nerve:
Cold water immersion/ice. (My Favorite!)
Breathe deeply opening your diaphragm and focus on the feeling of expansion. Extend your exhales.
Massage. I usually find myself massaging my neck, chest, or arms when I feel the onset of a panic attack.
Research was performed on patients that received no Vagal nerve stimulation and some that did.
“... patients who showed no increase or even a reduction of heart rate during exposure relative to the recovery (group 1 and 2) showed a strong increase in vagal control during exposure which was most pronounced at the beginning of exposure.(1)”
So the next time you feel a panic attack coming on, make sure to give one or all three of these a try!
Like I noted above, my FAVORITE is the ice or cold technique. This has been the
quickest method I have found to help bring my head out of the fog and heart rate down. There are a bunch of different ways you can do this. Some people go so far as to submerge their face in ice water, but sometimes an ice pack will do the trick.
In the past I had used a bag of frozen vegetables or an ice box cooler to place on my chest, neck, or face. That works fine in a pinch, but I recently found this really cool facemask that works perfect (and can even help with puffy eyes!). I keep this baby in the fridge and bring it out when I need to. You can also keep this in your lunch box on an ice pack and use at work if needed. Fold it up and place it on your chest. (I've had a panic attack at work- trust me- its a life saver!)
It has been a game changer for me and I hope it can be for you too!
Sources:
https://rdcu.be/cUcD4 Richter, J., Pietzner, A., Koenig, J. et al. Vagal control of the heart decreases during increasing imminence of interoceptive threat in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Sci Rep 11, 7960 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86867-y
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vagus-nerve-stimulation/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22279
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