Dr. Nicole Cain describes panic attacks on a spectrum using a stoplight metaphor (green, yellow, red) and demonstrates a portable panic pack with sensory tools like fidgets, cold packs, and lavender to calm the nervous system during an episode. The items target the vagus nerve and brainstem without sedation.
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In your health. Panic attacks are common. It can happen suddenly and lasts anywhere between five to 20 minutes. Some can even last up to an hour. And every year, up to 11% of people in the US experience a panic attack. And now one naturopathic physician and author of Panic Proof has come up with a creative way to deal with it. Welcome Dr. Nicole Caine, to our show. It is great to have you. And this book just came out, what.
Just a month ago? Yes.
Congratulations on that. Thank you. Okay, so I'm gonna ask out of the gate. You know, a lot of times people have anxiety and they say, okay, this makes me anxious. What have you. What is the difference between anxiety and having a panic attack?
You know, traditionally, we've described them as two separate things, but the science says something a little different. Is that general anxiety, Anxiety that happens most of the time, more days than not, people will describe that they just have this low feeling of worry and that panic just out of the blue. But we're finding in the research that it's more of a spectrum where you may notice a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of overwhelm irritability. And I call that the green light. And then that can intensify where you're starting to feel a little bit more activated. That's yellow light. And then panic attacks. Sheer panic is the red light. That's crisis.
Right. Is that like when you're just paralyzed in a way? Yes.
You can be raging, you can be paralyzed, or I just, like, want to lay on the floor in my closet and cry. You can be just running around doing all the things but not getting anything done. Panic.
Okay, so how do we deal with that? Panic?
One of the best ways to deal with panic is to go to the brainstem. It's to ground yourself in the present moment. And it can be quick and it can be fun. So we have here what I've come up with. It's called a panic pack. And I needed this when my anxiety was at its worst. So I would think about what would help when my panic is number 10 out of 10 in crisis. And I don't want to take a medication that's going to turn me into a zombie. I need something quick and effective without the tr. So when we go to the brain, we found in the research that when you use temperature and stimuli and scent, that those are the things. So what we have here, number one, is you want to have a bag.
A cute bag at that doesn't have.
To be miserable and boring. For those who want to keep it a Little bit more lower grade.
That's me.
Yeah.
My fanny pack. I love that. Yes, yes.
So what you're going to put inside of it are going to be just all sorts of panic stopping goodies. So fidgets for fidgets will stimulate your sense of touch. It helps move restless energy out. That's a really top rated fidget.
I was gonna say. I've never seen this kind of a fidget.
Yeah, you can have it. It's all yours, girl. And then other fidgets. So like squishy.
My kids have these. Yes. They're so popular with it.
They know what they need to do. So like oftentimes we just look at what our kids are doing and it's like, oh, they're fidgeting, they wanna run around, get that energy out. And then we have this fidget which is a little bit more spiky. And so if you need that stimulation.
Got it. I thought it was a hair tie, but okay. That's very cute.
Don't make the mistake of putting this in your hair. It'll never come out. The breath is really good. And so they make these cute necklaces nowadays.
Oh, wow.
And instead of using a straw, you could put a necklace around your neck. And then when you're feeling a little stressed, you just breathe and it slows down. The breath activates your vagus nerve, which is the nerve that will suck, send you into calm, which is amazing. So it can be fun and subtle. We have a couple colors, but who doesn't love bubbles?
With a kid in you? Right?
With a kid in you. It causes you to slow down your breath and so you can't hyperventilate and blow good bubbles. Okay, so bubbles.
Nice.
And then sometimes we get really hot and we get really overstimulated. And in dbt, which is dialectical behavioral therapy, we stand on the shoulders of giants. Right. So they taught us that putting cold around our face can stimulate vagus nerve to calm panic and anxiety really quickly. So she used to teach. Marsha Linehan used to teach stick your face in a bucket of ice water. But girl, you can't do that when.
You'Re out in public having a panic attack.
Hold on, let me get my bucket of ice water.
Right.
We can do better. So this is. You can get these online and it's a first aid kind of emergency thing.
Oh, okay.
You shake it up, it gets really cold. And then you could apply it to your face, your chest, the back of your neck.
Nice.
It's amazing.
I've seen those.
Yep, more fidgets.
Feels Good. Yeah.
Very satisfying. Eternal bubble wrap. And then different flavors can stop panic. Your vagus nerve also goes through the root of your tongue, and so flavors. And so this is lemon ginger. Spicy.
So it's like a little hard candy.
Or something like that? Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
A little hard candy. So taste is really good. You said you love lavender, right? I do love lavender. So this is awesome for you. It calms you. So. So lavender, interestingly, has been studied to increase gaba. That's the neurotransmitter that you want to make you feel relaxed and calm. So you can sniff it, and then it goes into the brain, makes your brain calm. Or you can apply it and it'll absorb through the skin. Yeah.
Through your pulse points or something.
Yes. Okay, nice. And then I love kava kava. Kava kava is an herb that is anti anxiety, and it works really quickly, and it doesn't make you feel like a zombie.
You just put that in your mouth drop, and then. Okay.
And it does not taste good.
Oh.
But the last thing are earplugs, because sometimes you get overstimulated. So if you're feeling like too much is happening. Earplugs or even headphones.
Oh, nice. Okay, these are great. And everyone, obviously, can just custom it to yourself. Whatever gives you relief and less stress. It just brings down that level of anxiety and panic. Okay.
And I teach you how to use it in the book.
Okay, wonderful. Thank you so much. This was so eye opening, and you introduced me to new things I never knew. All right, thank you. Thank you, Rachel. Back to you.
