First, countries of almost the whole world closed their entry and exit borders, then all of their population government orders were locked in apartments. A trip to the grocery store closest to the house looked like going out into outer space: without special uniforms and safety precautions – no, no. For a week and a half of quarantine, we learned how to celebrate birthdays using the “zoom”, work exclusively online, live with overgrown gel polish and no make-up, conduct intimate monologues with our own four walls … Just get used to not shuddering at the thought that these forced the holidays will drag on for too long and we may be left without a workplace or one of our loved ones will become infected with the ill-fated coronavirus – we cannot yet. The hostages of the situation – people of creative professions – told how they cope with a sense of panic.

BRAIN PROTECTIVE REACTION

How to maintain a sober look at the current situation and not succumb to general panic? How to behave in this situation and maintain self-control? What is the essence of panic and its effect on a person?

First, you need to understand what panic is. Panic fear is a sudden, unaccountable fear, a state of intense anxiety about a real or perceived threat that seizes individuals, most often a crowd. During a panic, most often, a person ceases to control himself, his thoughts and actions. This is a powerful destructive energy that destroys from the inside, which can lead to a person “infected with panic” breaking the law and causing harm to others or animals. A person completely loses control over his emotions, which leads to tantrums, psychosis, or even worse, to deep depression. A person in a panic state does not realize what is happening.

During a panic, a person in 95% of cases follows the crowd, it is very simple to control such a person, dictate the conditions to him. In a person in a critical situation, the brain literally turns off and he becomes easily suggestible and easily controlled, merges with the crowd! And it is no longer possible to distinguish reliable information from false information, truth from lies.

With severe stress in the blood, a huge dose of adrenaline is produced, which is dangerous for physical health. And cortisol is also produced in the adrenal glands, the stress hormone, which in turn further aggravates the emotional background of a person. The vessels begin to work for wear and fail to pump blood, they burst, thereby disturbing not only blood circulation, but also significantly decreasing brain activity, and as a result, memory is deteriorating. The more often a person panics, the more often the brain gets used to the uncontrolled release of energy and automatically, in a critical situation, turns off.

Why it happens? First of all, this is a protective reaction: our brain launches signals into cells, as well as to the level of the subconscious. At this moment, a person may feel foggy or an altered state of consciousness. Thus, the brain creates a state in which a person will survive in a critical situation. But being in such a state, a person ceases to generate ideas that can help him cope with a particular situation, and in this case, a person is desperate and may become depressed against the background of an emotional disorder. And the state of depression most often results in panic attacks.

During a general panic, people begin to concentrate all their attention on a common problem. On the one hand, this is wonderful, because a common problem unites them, but on the other hand, people become uncontrollable. It is very easy for such people to impose their will. That is why during epidemics or pandemics, people run to stores and buy everything.

HOW TO FIGHT WITH A PANIC?

Let’s take a look at the 5 easiest and most effective ways.

1.First of all, you should start breathing smoothly and calmly. It has been scientifically proven that even deep breathing relaxes the body and impulses in the body, allowing our nerve endings not to get irritated, but rather come to complete rest.

Close your eyes and start counting to 10. At this point, our brain calms down, the emotional background is back to normal. This is due to the switching of the brain to the alpha state, in which the stress state decreases and the person can feel smooth relaxation, and pain also decreases in this state.

2. Relaxing meditations help a lot. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, remember the situation in which you experienced a sense of happiness. Visualize this picture and try to feel these positive feelings. At this point, the rebelled stress hormones will also calm down. After you feel that you have calmed down and your body has literally begun to relax, start an internal dialogue with yourself. This is the most effective way! In time of the internal monologue, cheer yourself up, explain to yourself that the world is large, that the resources of the state and the Earth will be enough for everyone. Explain to yourself that if you are calm, then your loved ones and friends will be calm, and they, in turn, will calm their loved ones and friends, and so on to infinity. After such meditation, the brain ceases to be “in military mobilization” and the person begins to think sensibly and in the right direction to solve problems.

3. If possible, take a shower. Water is a good information guide. On my own experience and the experience of my clients, it has been proven more than once that the right decisions come when taking a shower. So one of my clients, during difficult times in business, came up with a solution that allowed them to bring the business to a high level of income and save the situation. Allow at least 20 minutes for this. You will see, the result is worth it.

4. Any situation can be changed if the person is still alive. I like one of my practices that has saved many of my clients in different situations. Take a piece of paper and a pen. At the top, write your situation because of which you are worried. Divide the sheet into 2 halves. And under it, on one side, write at least 20-25 of the worst scenarios that could happen. Next to each written scenario, describe what you will do in this situation.

On the back of the sheet, write 20-25 good scripts. Read all that happened. At this moment, the brain lays down information, and then brain activity is activated to find the best scenario. After all, in fact, you are ready for the worst, which means that fear recedes and the brain begins to work soberly and actively to form a better situation for you.

The main thing is not to focus on the bad, but let go of the situation, after a while everything will be decided and even better than you could imagine.

5. Watch what and with what intonation you speak! Remove the words “crash”, “horror”, “death”, etc. from your vocabulary. Focus on positive things. Thank you for what you already have – health, family, love.

Each person knows how to control himself and control his emotions, panic attacks and fears, just often we just let our fears get out of control, thereby allowing our body to destroy itself.

Take care of yourself, your loved ones and those around you!