End Panic Attacks Naturally: 5 Tools to Calm Anxiety Fast

Episode 3: Anxiety, Stress and Panic Attacks: Natural Relief

Did you know that 8.2 million cases of anxiety were reported in the UK, with women TWICE as likely to suffer as men? 74% of UK adults have felt stressed, overwhelmed, or unable to cope at some point in the last year.

If you're struggling with anxiety, stress, or panic attacks right now, please know: you are absolutely not alone.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the difference between stress and anxiety, explaining what happens in your body during a panic attack, and sharing practical tips you can use RIGHT NOW to feel calmer and more in control.

What you'll learn:

• The difference between stress and anxiety (and why it matters)
• Physical, mental, and emotional symptoms to watch out for
• What's actually happening in your body during a panic attack
• Why your brain can't tell the difference between a dinosaur and a stressful situation!
• 5 practical strategies for managing the big 3: stress, anxiety and panic attacks

Homeopathic remedies mentioned: Aconite, Arsenicum, and Gelsemium (all available in my Blue Kit)

My custom blends of Bach flower remedies for anxiety are also mentioned.

This episode is packed with practical, actionable guidance. 

You deserve to feel calm and in control. Help is available.

Perfect for: Anyone struggling with anxiety, stress, or panic attacks, or supporting someone who is.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Homeopath in Your Pocket, where I help busy working mums discover how to support their family's health with confidence. Hi, I'm your host, Neela Prabhu, a licensed homeopath with 20 years of experience as a pharmacist. As a mum of two girls, I totally understand the juggle of family life firsthand. Each week, I'll share practical, actionable tips that you can use today to support your family's well-being. So let's get started. Hello and welcome to episode three of Homeopath in your pocket. Today's episode is all about anxiety and panic attacks. Natural relief for stress and overwhelm. So anxiety, stress, and panic attacks affect millions, and yet so many suffer in silence. Let's talk about some facts. 8.2 million people in the UK suffer with anxiety, and women suffer twice as much as men. 74% of UK adults have felt stressed, overwhelmed, and unable to cope within the last year. These are huge numbers, and if you're struggling right now, you're absolutely not alone. So I'm going to break down the difference between stress and anxiety because often these terms are used interchangeably. I'm also going to explain what happens during a panic attack, and I'm going to share practical tips that you can use right now to feel calmer and more in control. So what is stress? So humans are designed to handle short periods of stress. It's actually a good thing. It helps us meet deadlines, avoid danger, and perform under pressure. But what happens when stress happens over a much longer period of time? Or nothing tells our nervous system to stand down and calm down. This becomes a problem. The body stays in a heightened state and symptoms appear. So what are the symptoms of stress? The physical symptoms are headaches and dizziness, muscle tension or pain, stomach problems, chest pain or a much faster heartbeat, and sexual problems. Mentally you can have difficulty concentrating, you struggle to make decisions, feel overwhelmed, constantly worrying and being forgetful. Emotional or behaviour symptoms are being irritable and snappy, sleeping too much or too little, eating too much or too little, avoiding certain places or people, and drinking or smoking more. Sound familiar? This is your body telling you that it needs support. So here are five things you can do right now to help with these symptoms. Number one, talk things through with a trusted friend. Sometimes just saying it out loud to someone who cares can make a huge difference. You don't need them to fix it, just to listen. Number two, actively say no to things so that you're not feeling overwhelmed. You don't have to do everything and you don't have to please everyone. It's okay to protect your time and your energy. Number three, breathing exercises can really help. And we're going to talk more about breathing techniques in a moment because this is particularly useful for panic attacks. Number four, go for a long walk outdoors or any movement or physical activity. Movement helps the body process stress hormones. It doesn't have to be intense exercise, just something that gets you moving. So when these stress hormones are released, our body is in hunter-gatherer mode and thinking that there is some sort of animal or you're under attack. So it produces cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and it those chemicals are there ready for you to fight, flight, or freeze. So if you're going for a long walk or moving, you're using up those hormones so that your body thinks you're having a fight with a saber-toothed tiger when really you're not. Number five, write down thoughts in a journal so they're not circulating around in your head going round and round, and it's like a brain dump, just getting everything out onto the paper, out of your mind, and it can be incredibly freeing. So these are simple steps, but they are quite powerful, so don't underestimate them. So what is anxiety? This term is often used interchangeably with stress, but anxiety often presents slightly differently to just stress. Anxiety tends to be more about worry and fear, particularly about things that might happen in the future. So the symptoms of anxiety, the physical symptoms are a faster, irregular, or more noticeable heartbeat, feeling lightheaded and dizzy, headaches, chest pains, lots of excuse me, loss of appetite, sweating, breathlessness, feeling hot and shaking. Mentally, you might be feeling tense or nervous, unable to relax, worrying about the past or the future, feeling tearful, not able to sleep, to have difficulty concentrating, catastrophizing or fear the worst happening. You may have intrusive traumatic memories, or you may have obsessive thoughts, and behavioral symptoms, not able to enjoy your leisure time, struggling to look after yourself, difficulty informing or maintaining relationships, worrying about trying new things, avoiding places or situations that create anxiety, and compulsive behavior. So constantly checking things like have I locked the house or how did I turn that light off? The reality is anxiety can be absolutely exhausting. It takes over your mind and your body. Your body is constantly feeling like it's under attack and has to be on guard at all times. So here are five things that can help right here, right now. Number one, write down all the possible outcomes of the situation you're anxious about. Then make an action plan of what to do for each one so that you're prepared. This takes away some of the fear of the unknown. Number two, walking or any movement outdoors really helps to calm our nervous system. We are nature, so being in the fresh air, nature, and movement is incredibly grounding to us. It reminds us we're part of a bigger system. Number three, tell a trusted friend or family member that you're feeling this way. They can support you and check in with you. You don't have to carry it alone. Number four, access talking therapy if you can, through the NHS or private counselling. Therapy can give us tools and strategies that can make a real lasting difference. And number five, if thinking about the whole day is overwhelming, just think about one hour at a time. Break things down into bite-sized chunks. It helps us to dial down our nervous system and you don't have to tackle everything at once. So panic attacks, what are they? Panic attacks are absolutely terrifying if you've ever experienced one. Your body goes into full alarm mode even when there's no danger there. So physically, our caveman or cavewoman brain reacts as if a dinosaur is about to eat you. The heart races painfully, you feel faint, nauseous, you may have chest pain, you may feel shaky or tremble, you might have hot flushes, a dry mouth, and shortness of breath. In short, you might feel like you're going to die. And panic attacks can last from five to twenty minutes, which is quite a long time to feel so afraid. So why do they happen? Our brains have not sufficiently evolved to know the difference between an actual dinosaur or a stressful situation. We've spent thousands of years being cave people, versus the blink of an eye being modern people who live in houses with electricity and Wi-Fi. Our adrenal glands pump adrenaline and cortisol and noradrenaline out very, very quickly, and these are our fight, flight, or freeze hormones. Stressful situations can cause panic attacks. They can also be triggered by seemingly nothing, which is what makes them so frightening. Here are my five tips to handle and avoid panic attacks right here, right now. Number one, deep breathing. So inhale to the count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale for a count of four, and hold for a count of four. This is called box breathing. This helps regulate the oxygen and carbon dioxide balance in the body and it calms your nervous system. Navy SEALs use this in times of combat, so if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us. Number two, close your eyes. Our brain becomes overloaded with chemicals and stimuli during a panic attack. By closing our eyes, which are directly linked to our brain, we focus only on the internal stimuli and this reduces overwhelm. Number three, emotional freedom technique. This focuses on tapping on certain kidney meridian acupuncture points in a specific order. It's drug-free, it can be done anywhere, and it's very effective. I have an EFT demonstration video in the show notes. I'll pop a link there if you want to learn the technique. So EFT stands for emotional freedom technique, and I often call it the question mark and the ooh-ooh ooh monkey because that helps you to remember which areas of the body that you're tapping. Number four, backflower rescue remedy. This little yellow bottle is very gentle yet powerful in halting panic attacks and anxiety. Use it directly on the tongue or in water or in any liquid. You can keep the bottle in your handbag at all times. And number five, avoid these food items for two months and see if your panic attacks reduce caffeine, orange juice, and cheese. All of these stimulate the adrenal glands, which can make you more prone to panic attacks. It might sound surprising, especially the orange juice and the cheese, but they genuinely can be triggers. So my top three homeopathic remedies for panic attacks are aconite, arginite, and arsenicum album. Gelsemium can be useful for anticipatory anxiety, so feelings before big events or when dreading something that's coming up. Aconite, arsenicum, and gelsemium are all in my blue kit, which I'll leave a link for in the show notes. I also do backflower custom blends, which are equally powerful for panic attacks. Again, these can be tailored specifically to your emotional state and your symptoms, and I'll leave a link in the show notes below. So, what are your action steps that you can do right here, right now? Step one, start with one practical tip. Just pick one thing from today. Maybe it's the box breathing technique, maybe it's going for a daily walk, maybe saying no to something that is overwhelming you. Just start with one thing, don't try to do everything at once. Step two, get support, talk to someone, a friend, a family, member, your GP or a therapist. You don't have to do it alone. Reaching out is not weakness, it's strength. Step three, try homeopathy. Do you want to try my homeopathic remedies for anxiety or panic attacks? My blue kit contains aconite, arsenicum, and gelsemium. It's a great starting point when it comes and it comes with a guide to matching symptoms to the right remedy. Purchase some backflower rescue remedy. Keep that bottle with you, and whenever you feel anxiety creeping in or a panic attack starting, you can start using it immediately. If you're dealing with chronic anxiety or frequent panic attacks, book in a free discovery call so that you and I can talk about what's going on and create a personalized treatment plan. Constitutional homeopathic treatment can make a real difference to your mental health. So, what have we covered today? Stress is your body's response to short-term pressure. But when it's chronic, it can cause physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. Anxiety is worry and fear, often about the future, but it can be debilitating. And panic attacks are your fight, flight or freeze response going into overdrive. It's terrifying yet manageable. So, some things you can do to help yourself: breathing exercises, movement, talking to someone, breaking things down, homeopathy, and backflower remedies. Please remember that you're not alone and help is available, and you deserve to feel calm and in control. Thanks for listening to today's episode. If you found this helpful, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a review as it helps other busy mums discover the show. If you want to dive deeper, book a free discovery call to see how we can work together one-to-one, or join me on Instagram at Homeopathic Harmony, where we can continue the conversation. And don't forget to grab your free guide to beating insomnia when you join my email list because I know sleep is precious when you're juggling everything else. The links are in the show notes. I'll see you next week.