Why Having a Plan and Sending the Right Messages to Your Brain During Episodes of High Anxiety and Panic is Important

F.A.C.E. Fear is a method of moving through anxiety and panic attacks that creates new neuropathways of safety learning in the brain. Using the F.A.C.E. Fear method during episodes of high anxiety eventually results in eliminating panic episodes or time spent in fight-or-flight, and improves your overall ability to tolerate anxiety.

A panic attack is the activation of the Fight-or-Flight response, an automatic survival mechanism that kicks in when our brain believes we may be in danger. Unfortunately, our brains are designed to overreact and can kick into fight-or-flight from a simple worry, a startle, a bodily sensation or just about any internal or external trigger that our brain interprets as dangerous.

Common bodily sensations and symptoms during episodes of anxiety, stress and panic include:

• Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
• Breathlessness or air hunger
• Rapid heartbeat and palpitations
• Chest pressure and chest pain
• Dizziness and lightheadedness
• Blurred vision and dark spots
• Derealization and depersonalization
• Numbness and tingling
• Hot flashes and cold sweats
• Lump in throat and globus sensation
• Muscle tension, shaking, and trembling

Using the F.A.C.E. Fear method during times of high anxiety and panic, you are actively training your brain to desensitize from the symptoms of the fight-or-flight response without reinforcing the anxiety and panic cycle. You are successfully training your brain that high anxiety and panic sensations are not harmful or dangerous and that you can tolerate the sensations associated with anxiety.