How to Deal With a Panic Attack | Big Think

How to Deal With a Panic Attack
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The universe is a huge place, inconceivably vast. And it can make even the most brilliant minds feel very, very small. Yet NASA's very own Michelle Thaller thinks that we can use this to our advantage, by finding "that balance between being part of everything, and being so brief, or almost nothing." You can follow Michelle on Twitter here.
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MICHELLE THALLER:

Dr. Michelle Thaller is an astronomer who studies binary stars and the life cycles of stars. She is Assistant Director of Science Communication at NASA. She went to college at Harvard University, completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif. then started working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Spitzer Space Telescope. After a hugely successful mission, she moved on to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in the Washington D.C. area. In her off-hours often puts on about 30lbs of Elizabethan garb and performs intricate Renaissance dances. For more information, visit
NASA.
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TRANSCRIPT:

Michelle Thaller: One of the big challenges of my life has been to kind of breakdown this barrier as scientists being somehow The Other. You know, “Being a scientist isn’t really a normal way to be a human being.”


And somehow there are all these judgments about—that “you must be very logical” or “you must be very smart,” whatever that means. And no one ever seems to really understand that when you learn where the atoms in your body came from, you know, when you learn the scale of the universe, when you learn the stories that you’re involved in, there has to be some emotional response to that, you know?


That just doesn’t roll off you and never affect you. And I don’t really have a great way to deal with everything that I’ve learned being an astrophysicist, you know. If I ever give people the impression that all this is “just okay” with me, that’s entirely wrong.


There are days when, you know, I understand that I am a collection of atoms that came from the hearts of stars, that briefly comes together and forms planets and people and everything that’s in our world. And then, you know, I was observing one night at Mount Palomar, where we were observing supernovae. And supernovae are the explosions of an entire solar system. A whole solar system is destroyed. A star and all of its planets.


And our telescopes are so good now that at a typical night at Mount Palomar you see about 20 of those a night. You know, you see 20 entire solar systems ripped apart—every night! So we’re here very briefly, you know. We’re little collections of atoms that come together and scatter and then form other things and, you know, travel on through the universe.


And sometimes that’s incredibly inspiring, and sometimes you think about the story that you’re a part of. The water in my body has hydrogen from the Big Bang, from the very start of the universe. Then the oxygen came from stars that had to die, you know? You hold your arms around yourself and you have a story that’s billions of years and trillions of miles across, just in your own self.


And then you think about how brief we are and how, you know, we are this little collection that comes together and disperses.


And sometimes I hide under the bed and it’s given me anxiety attacks, and you cling to the people that you love and you have sex with all the wrong people, and you try to find some way to just kind of work out this energy that you don’t know what to do with.


So there’s a balance between nihilism and inspiration, and I have to say that while that balance is sometimes painful because you’re a human being and you don’t know how to deal with this scale of things. It is an absolutely wonderful place to walk.


That balance between being part of everything, and being so brief, or almost nothing.


And you have to hold those two things in your hands at the same time. And everybody you meet and everything you do in life—and when you’re out grocery shopping and when you’re driving on the highway—these thoughts just don’t really ever leave. So it’s not the easiest place to be. There’s no great answer there. There’s no great comfort.


But the inspiring part is you’re part of a story that is mind-blowingly dramatic and beautiful, even if you’re a brief part. And so to me the balance tips towards inspiration. Some days it’s more towards the nihilism, but you take that little bit of truth and you wrap it up and you carry it with you. It never really leaves.

[Ben-hkpw]

This video calmed me down with in two minutes from a panic attack truly empowering

[callmemandyNL]

Wishing all my fellow panic-companions the best ❤

[al_]

I had this thought on the way home - and this guy confirmed it for me. If you are anxious about your anxiety, or trying to avoid it or leave it behind, then you are adding to your load. Trust your feelings - it's through these that you know what works best for you :)

[msprissmiss]

I've delt with severe panic attacks since I was 12. I'm not agoraphobia nor do I hate busy or social spaces. I love them. It's my past traumas, current issues, & future worries because of my past traumas that do me in. Taking a deep breath while having one is easier said than done, as when all muscles are tense, it's ridiculously hard. I know that most of us will be dealing with these for the rest of our lives, never ever having heart issues, either. I will die from being hit by a bus or a rock 🪨 from outerspace hitting me in the head after surviving the atmosphere. I was told by my doctor that his patients convinced they have heart issues never do and those convinced they don't, that do. Even in moments when we feel out of touch & control of our bodies do we find we are actually the most keenly aware of then, especially after surviving so many attacks, we've become finely tuned. We are afraid because the sudden fear grips us so, but deep down we know just what to do, however hard, we know to draw a bath for the shaking, take deep breaths through our nose and out through our mouths, however stiff we are, and we focus on many objects in the room to confuse our rabid 🧠. To live life, & live life well, through such episodes, as those of us with panic disorders do, why, we should get a medal, cause it's off to war, we go, and to war we've been, every day, week, month, year..being prepared, trying to be prepared, the best we can for all we can.

[RobertSpitzer]

I am going to have to take time to process all this.

[matevzstegnar]

Like him, he just calm me down in few seconds.

[princemichael]

I lay down flate and work on breathing normally, it helps a little, but I've had it all day today, hard to sleep

[DanOsborne.acp]

Currently at work in the bathroom having one had to leave my work station because the feelings are so intense

[xsm]

I think of it as like an Anxiety Sneeze, it's probably actually best just to let it all out rather than fight it.

[chrishrrh]

I dont understand. My heart rate gets up too 200bpm and my limbs go stiff and tingly and i always think if ima pass out and if I do im going to die. This seems impossible to cope with and just bring along, i just dont understand.

[TheDetoxCureGuide]

Even simple anti oxidants can improve the ability to deal with stress and lower anxiety levels. I did a video on this.

[jhibbitt]

not sure i agree with him. he spends most of the video saying what NOT to do and the very small part about what TO do seemed to me like word salad.

[Badrillex]

Had to watch two ads to see this NPC mumbling poetry like bullshit

[gabrielalyv]

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. 🙏❤️
Hey, I came to spread the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST. JESUS Loves You. ONLY JESUS can save you, seek JESUS while there is still time because He is coming.❤️ KING OF KINGS. LORD OR LORDS.

[yi]

What he said truly becomes my game changer. It is the key to treat panic disorder. When I first understood what he means, I literally burst out of tear. I thought I have finally known my way out. Anxiety is one type of normal human feelings, so it is not to make it go away, it is to live with it. Rejecting anxiety and thinking it is a problem makes one invalidates oneself and lives further away from calmness. Thank you for sharing this.

[mitchellandrews]

so true, run towards the anxiety and use it as a strength...I know that it's easier said then done and not always 100% but trust me it's better then the other outcomes

[Illuminatelove]

Learning hot to sit within..complete acceptance...not easy but possible

[TheDreadfulCurtain]

I really love the ACT therapeutic method. It makes more sense to me than CBT.
I want to apply it in my life on a daily basis. Much gratitude to Stephen Hayes

[steveygee]

You are a huge inspiration and a wise, kind hearted man.

[lucasabdou]

cigarette i have a phobia from it i used to smoke cigarette a lot now one freak me out