I talked her through a panic attack. How positive mental fitness helped one friend.

It was 6 months ago and I was at work. A friend, let’s call her Jane, texted to ask to speak, saying she was having a panic attack. I immediately dialled her number. Jane could barely speak.

At that time, I was taking a course in Positive Mental Fitness, all about taking command of those intrusive thoughts which destroy our peace of mind. I call them our inner Saboteurs.

With Jane on the phone, I quickly moved myself to a quiet meeting room and sat down. Instinctively I knew what to do. I said “Sit down Jane and close your eyes. Take a couple of slightly deeper breaths. Pause. Notice the temperature of air as you inhale and the temperature of air as you exhale. Pause. Draw all your attention to your breathing. Pause. Allow your breathing to return to its natural relaxed rhythm. Pause. As thoughts come into your mind, allow them to pass by and return your awareness to your breathing. Pause. Notice your feet flat on the floor. Pause. Notice their contact with the ground. Pause. Notice your body in contact with the chair. Pause. Return your awareness back to your breathing. Pause.” I asked Jane how she was feeling. She replied “Wow! How did you know how to do that? I feel better now, I can actually breathe!”

The above is an example of doing Positive Intelligence Quotient reps (PQ reps). Not only is it a valuable tool to defuse a panic attack but doing them regularly throughout your day enables you to re-centre and re-charge before moving on to your next task. It gives you an opportunity to choose how you want to RESPOND to a challenge you are facing, rather than REACTING!

The next 6 week Positive Mental Fitness Bootcamp starts in September. 6 weeks to get your life punctuated so that you can be calm and focused in the midst of the chaos and challenges we all face. Act now to book your slot.

With gratitude

Jackie

Take the free Saboteur Assessment here to discover the most common ways you self-sabotage.

Ways to work with me

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