If while you are reading this article a Bengal tiger were to appear through your window, you would quickly notice how all your muscles tense up, your heart begins to beat very fast and your breathing becomes extremely agitated. Surely you would stop reading this text and your mind would start scheming a thousand and one ways to run away from there. I introduce you to fear. A emotion essential for the survival who will be in charge of maximizing the probabilities that you escape alive from any danger.
However, sometimes this same response is triggered in very diverse and often not very dangerous situations, even if they feel like such. This occurs because the amygdala (brain structure responsible for triggering the alarm response) cannot allow any mistakes and it is preferable to make false positives and point out neutral stimuli as dangerous than remaining silent when faced with the appearance of a Bengal tiger.
Sometimes, they are precisely the physical or somatic sensations those that are feared. Usually this fear usually sets in after experiencing a panic attack. That is, a acute anxiety crisis characterized by the abrupt appearance of very unpleasant physiological sensations (palpitations, shortness of breath, choking, dizziness, hyperventilation) together with scary thoughts (fear of suffering a heart attack, fear of going crazy or losing control), which usually cannot be associated with a specific cause.
The panic attacks They are quite frequent. According to the mental health survey carried out during the pandemic in Spain by the CIS, 15.3% of the population reported having experienced panic attacks. It is precisely in this context that the interoceptive exposure enters the scene as the most effective technique for the treatment of panic attacks, that is, the fear of one’s own internal sensations.
The interoceptive exposure It is a psychological technique named by David Barlow in his study of panic, which consists of deliberately and systematically confronting feared physical sensations until the discomfort is significantly reduced or until it is verified that the anticipated consequences do not occur. This technique was born in the context of the discovery of interoceptive conditioningalong with the discovery that prolonged exposure to a feared stimulus reduces the anxious response by weakening the neuronal connections that keep it active through habituation.
For this, and always after carrying out a prior medical check-up To rule out any underlying organic pathology, there are some exercises capable of inducing those same feared sensations. For example, climbing several flights of stairs increases the heart rate, turning around several times causes feelings of dizziness, or breathing through a straw is associated with shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
Therefore, if you feel identified and believe that you amygdala has conditioned the alarm response to some physical sensation, now you know that despite how uncomfortable it may be, the only option is to face and expose yourself to these sensations. And of course, if the undertaking has become too arduous, do not hesitate to contact a professional who can design an individualized treatment for your specific case.
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