Picture this (maybe it’s actually happened to you before):

You’re working or going about your day when suddenly, your heart starts racing and you feel like you can’t breathe.

If you’re out in public, you immediately look for the nearest bathroom or exit so you can get some alone time and regain your composure. But at that moment, you actually feel like you’re going to die.

I remember this feeling so well.

My panic attacks were so severe they threw me out of bed in the middle of the night. The only way I could calm down was by opening my bedroom window and using all the power of my will to take deep breaths of fresh air into my hyperventilating lungs.

Sometimes I would just cry alone in the dark.

At that time in my life, I was really angry at God but when those panic attacks hit, I found myself pleading with Her: “Please help me.”

Eventually, I learned a powerful way to calm myself down from panic, which I share in this week’s video.

So if you’re experiencing severe stress and anxiety right now in your life, know that I’m right there, giving you a big hug filled with love.

Prolonged stress is so contra natura yet it has become the new “normal” today. We pop a pill and move on…until our bodies and minds inevitably breakdown in one way or another.

I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of science around panic attacks and anxiety because it’s a much-discussed topic these days.

But have you ever considered the spiritual or energy perspective before?

If not, here it goes.

From an energy perspective, panic attacks are simply a releasing of extra chi, or life force. The particular type of energy that causes panic attacks is Fire Chi: it’s the hot, yang/male energy within us.

Energy must move, especially emotional energy, and if you don’t give it room to circulate, it will explode in your face.

Hence the sometimes unexpected nature of panic attacks.

I found out about the “energy” part of panic attacks in 2013, as my marriage was falling apart.

I was sitting across from the person I would soon call my Angel Therapist: a psychotherapist by the name of Andrew. He was pretty much the only thing keeping me from having a nervous breakdown at that crucial time in my life.

I was numb and had nothing left in me, my body sinking into a big armchair in Andrew’s office. He was quiet, observing my body from head to toe. Suddenly, his eyes stopped at my stomach and he said:

“You’re angry.”

That statement made me sit up in my chair. “No, I’m not. I’m just in pain.” But Angel Andrew was not buying my bullshit.

“Yes, you’re angry.”

That therapy session marked the beginning of a 5-year journey of self-discovery. At the time, I wasn’t intentionally lying to Andrew: I was just so numb, so repressed, that I didn’t know what emotions were inside of me anymore.

But they were there. And that anger that my psychotherapist so skillfully observed in my stomach was a crucial component in my lifelong battle with panic attacks.

As the days went by after that therapy session, I discovered that I wasn’t just angry: I was really angry. I also felt deep shame, sadness, despair.

And I had repressed these emotions ever since I was a little girl.

Now, if you’re experiencing anxiety or panic attacks, ask yourself this:

What emotions have I repressed in me? What emotional energy is trapped?

Just close your eyes and sit with these questions. Don’t be afraid: emotions don’t kill us, even the ones we judge as “bad emotions”.

Sit with them, cradle them. Allow every single emotion to be seen and heard, as if they were cherished friends (because they are).

And always remember this simple energy rule:

1. If I allow myself to feel everything that is inside of me (good or bad), then energy circulates openly and freely.
2. If I repress energy, it will explode in my face eventually.

Now that you have an understanding of the overall energy behind panic attacks and anxiety, I also want to share a really simple and quick exercise, for those times when anxiety hits out of the blue.

In this 4-min video, I share my Heart Exercise to help you center and calm yourself when stress hits.