If any of us could have watched today’s pandemic news 3 years ago, we would have decided it was some black futuristic story. Today, the need for a special health pass and the division between haves, have nots and wavering is a reality. No psyche is ready to adapt and accept such processes as normal so quickly. Living in constant threat to health, changing demands that become more and more urgent and without alternative. A daily life in which, in addition to catastrophic information, flows the threat of social isolation and deprivation of freedoms… All this consciously and subconsciously creates a pressure on our psyche hitherto unknown. And it is bound to react.

Often this reaction is expressed in defensive functions such as the increasingly common panic attacks. This is the reason why the “Beautiful Mind” campaign of the Next Level fitness chain has been so successful – because it provides answers to the questions we all secretly ask ourselves and which, however, greatly worry our body and psyche.

This month’s campaign theme is panic attacks. That’s why psychologist and Beautiful Mind campaign consultant Annie Vladimirova tells us what they really are and how we can manage them.

What causes panic attacks?

“Today, to be able to function with a relatively satisfactory social activity, one needs to fulfill certain conditions: research, vaccination, green certificate… And here the additional stress begins. Many people say they don’t feel at ease getting vaccinated. They lack convincing and reassuring information. Others are focused on their subjective sense of loss of freedom and build up anger and anxiety. Still others are fighting for pro and con causes, searching for the right solution for themselves. Too many people share that they feel as if their lives and decisions are not their own! They can’t see the future,” Vladimirova explains.

What happens to the body during a panic attack?

All this leads to the stress axis unlocking intensely and for a long time. Hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal glands are harnessed to produce the stress biochemistry that supposedly should help us cope with danger. However, the dangers don’t go away. They are around us, in us, in the other person, in frustrating circumstances, in the news… When this axis starts to “burn out” we become over-emotional and anxious.

Our thoughts may say, “It’s okay, it’s not going to happen!” but every organ, every system has taken in more doses of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol and starts giving signals, the psychologist continues.

The autonomic nervous system is the first physical alarm giving signals that the situation is out of control. Psychosomatics appear in everyone according to the “weak spot”. In the more emotional and reactive people, blood pressure variations begin that seem scary. They tether the sufferer to the blood pressure apparatus and take the trust out of his body. Numbness of the limbs follows as do reactions of the peripheral nervous system. In more injured and sensitive people comes gastrointestinal discomfort and insomnia. These create a conviction of unfitness and unpromisingness. The more balanced neurophysiology types are not immune either. They accumulate fatigue, stiffness, headaches, insomnia, which creates a general uncertainty about both the here and now and the future.

As the most powerful manifestation of stress and powerlessness in a changing and uncertain environment come panic states. They harness the entire body’s alarm system. From high doses of stress biochemistry, the activity of the cardiovascular system rises sharply and intensely, manifested in palpitations and fear. Their biological function is to prepare the body for fight or flight, but no one can escape pandemic conditions. Then come the spasms in the vessels of the lung – not because anything fatal is happening, but because fear leads to blockage. Combined with the quickening of the breathing comes the frightening sensation of no air. The gastrointestinal tract, which is richly innervated, has long taken the strain and therefore “shrinks into a ball.” The bladder also reacts violently to stress. The peripheral nerve endings in turn also give signals with tingling and tingling. The skin, as the largest organ that can detoxify, will begin to release stress through the “cold sweat.” The body’s reactions are so strong, the brain so gripped by fear and survival instinct, that the rational part of it shuts down. Then many people think, “I’m going to die! I’m going crazy!” But none of that will happen, Vladimirova reassures us.

It turns out that our otherwise perfect system of regulation has overheated and is signaling that it’s time to find a better and more caring option for our lives, albeit in the face of strict requirements, restrictions, pandemic exhaustion and uncertainty.

How to deal with panic attacks?

Many people ask us, “How do I turn the situation around! Feeling all this, I dare do nothing!” Annie Vladimirova claims to have a clear program in several steps:

• The first step is to not allow yourself to isolate yourself from activities and people. Panic attacks and psychosomatic complaints create a constant anxiety that refuses everything for the purpose of reassurance. The heightened instinct for self-preservation is associated with a lack of confidence in one’s own abilities, and one begins to believe that one is lost. All that remains is the consciousness of fainting and anxious anticipation. So don’t give up meeting friends, going out and being social, taking walks, moving around and making plans.
• The next step is to show your brain that it can trust your body again. It is not a traitor, but rather a caring informant about stress overload. So start with walking on a treadmill, yoga and stretching. This will give energy, start to bring back conditioning and clean out the accumulated adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol. Boosting blood flow and activating lymphatic system function will literally make you feel lighter. The stress that many people are experiencing along the demands of the pandemic is like a poison that needs to be thrown out, and the best way therefore is sport. Next Level gym chain gyms offer a wide variety of equipment and workouts, which you can check out on their website: https://www.nextlevelclub.bg.
• In the next step comes the time to consider a group sport without looking for big achievements. It could be dancing and other aerobic activities. The important idea is that you can always stop for a break, but not to leave. Splicing with others in the gym, acting in sync will show your brain that you are like others, in quite ordinary functioning.
  Then you can now work with moderate weights. Do exercises in sets of a certain number and a calm intensity. That way the mind is sorted and calmed. It is no coincidence that at the peak of a panic attack, one can count, do activity with the hands to direct the mind to reality and to simple, non-threatening thoughts. Naturally, it is good to work with an instructor. He gives the feedback and so the joy of achievement becomes tangible and real: “Who would have thought that I, who couldn’t breathe from panic, could now do so many repetitions of a strength exercise! That’s the reality I have to believe.”

There are a few important points that need to be considered by people who deal with panic states and psychosomatics through sport. “Learn to differentiate between the sensations that come with sport and those experienced in panic! Panic is a highly emotional experience and any sensation in the body that reminds you of the bad emotion can make you anxious! Sport is the path to recovery and long-term management of psychosomatics and panic states,” Vladimirova is convinced.

That’s why panting is logical with physical exertion. You control it in sport and don’t make associations with panic. More intense breathing equals better clearing of stress biochemistry. Heart palpitations from any exercise are to be expected. It is an indication that our body is pushing stress out in a healthy way. Exercise strengthens the endothelium, and this is a prerequisite for a healthy heart that will withstand the stress of the pandemic, the measures, the altered conditions, and the green certificates. “Sometimes because of the fear of how the movement will affect me, I can get a buzzing in my ears.” Sports don’t cause such symptomatology, fear and tension do! You can get dizzy from exertion! This is an indication that you need to train your body more regularly, not that you are having a panic-like experience. The same goes for “softening your feet and hands.”

The best helper to overcome stress and its consequences is our own body. It is the perfect machine that requires movement and smart routing. The gym has all the facilities for this. Do not hesitate to use them.