Panic ... Attack? (Episode 006)
Disordered: Anxiety Help
Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata
4.9 • 663 Ratings
🗓️ 21 April 2023
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
IT SURE FEELS LIKE AN ATTACK ... BUT IS IT?
This week on Disordered Drew and Josh deconstruct the idea of a panic attack. It sure feels like you're being attacked, but are you? Is there a more useful and accurate way to frame what's happening? Do we find power when we stop looking at panic as a force that swoops in to attack us?
The guys chat about how a panic "attack" is really an adrenaline surge based on natural, expected, bodily functions. It's not dangerous and not indicative of an actual problem, just a misguided threat detection system in your brain. The conversation goes through why panic attacks are all the same from a physiology perspective and how its the context and the interpretation that makes them feel different or sometimes "worse".
This can be a really useful reframe for anyone struggling to overcome recurring panic attacks or panic disorder so grab a beverage and a comfortable chair and have a listen.
Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast?
Visit us on the web at https://disordered.fm
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Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We want to reassure you straight away that nothing's actually attacking you. |
| 0:08.5 | Panic attacks are not dangerous. |
| 0:12.2 | They are just extremely uncomfortable. |
| 0:15.7 | We use the word panic attack. |
| 0:16.7 | That's a generally accepted term. |
| 0:18.1 | Everybody knows what it is. |
| 0:19.4 | From a phenomenological perspective, it sure feels like an attack. |
| 0:22.6 | So I get that. |
| 0:23.6 | I understand why we say that. |
| 0:25.1 | But is it really? |
| 0:26.0 | Is it really an attack? |
| 0:27.2 | We'll never ever intend to undermine or devalue your feelings. |
| 0:31.9 | I like to reframe the word panic attack to adrenaline flood or an adrenaline rush. |
| 0:38.3 | Because one, that's more accurate. |
| 0:40.6 | And two, it sounds less scary. |
| 0:43.4 | The difference from one panic attack to the other was whatever thought I latched onto in that |
| 0:48.1 | particular panic attack or that particular episode. |
| 0:53.8 | Welcome to Disordered. We are up to episode six today. Today's episode is entitled |
| 0:58.5 | Panic Attack. Anyway, welcome everybody. I am Drew Lin Salata. I am a graduate student in clinical |
| 1:06.0 | mental health counseling and a future therapist in training here in the U.S. in the state of |
| 1:09.9 | New York. And I'm Joshua Fletcher, a psychotherapist based in the UK, specializing in anxiety. |
| 1:17.0 | Here we are. Welcome, Josh. How you doing? I like how you said the title, the panic attack. |
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