Neurologist shares a simple exercise to deal with panic attacks in public places

Panic attacks are known to occur at any given time and place. According to the Better Health Channel, a panic attack is an episode of fear or frustration or a set of emotions, ideally stemming from anxiety. It causes tension in the muscles or may result in dizziness, shortness of breath and so on. If someone experiences them in public places, they can be tough to handle and deal with. Neurology researcher and doctor Jim Costello—who goes by @dr.jimcostello on Instagram—is sharing a simple exercise to practice when one feels a panic attack coming and they are not at home.

In his Instagram video, Dr. Jim stitched another video where a woman was sitting holding her knees with an ice cube in her hand. The text overlay read, “A therapist told me to hold an ice cube in my hand if I’m going to have a panic attack or anxiety attack.” Replying to this practice Dr. Jim said, “Using an ice cube is fantastic for when you're at home. But when you aren’t at home and you start to feel anxiety well up, here’s what you can do.” He then began explaining the exercise while demonstrating the same in the video.

He mentioned checking on your sensory-motor pathways and said, “You wanna grab your wrist and hold it for 10 seconds and give it a light squeeze. Then, shift over to the other wrist, hold it and give it a light squeeze for about 10 seconds.” Adding to the exercise, the doctor pointed out grabbing one’s shoulder joints and giving it a nice squeeze. Explaining the reason and application behind the same, Dr. Jim said, “What you’re doing is creating a reset in the disruption of the frequency of firing and that will calm your system down and bring that anxiety down to a whole new level.” The video proved helpful to several people who find it hard to deal with such episodes in public.

@cx.fuu said, “I have always done this naturally. I never knew it was what helped me calm down. I get random anxiety throughout the day like an urge to move and run or sock something or even yell and this always brings me back down.” @ivaallamani13 said, “I always grab my wrists but I didn't know this.” With the increase in awareness of mental health issues, more and more people are normalizing talking about it and finding ways to deal with the same. In a recent video, iconic rapper Megan Thee Stallion pointed out the need to be aware of your mental health issues and shared the message, “It’s okay not to be okay.”

She shared that several people are told to stay strong but that’s not always possible and that’s fine. She urged her fans and others to get help and even talk to someone about such things because “somebody does care.” She shared the video in collaboration with the Seize the Awkward organization. The former deals with mental health and related topics and has been collaborating with the rapper for a while. “No matter who you are, being vulnerable is what makes us whole,” Megan concluded in her message. She even has a website, ‘Bad b*tches have bad days too’, where she strongly promotes good mental health. The website is dedicated to reaching out to several victims struggling with their mental health, unable to find help.