Looking for an easy way to calm yourself during a panic attack? You might not always need help from others or learn complicated breathing exercises. A trauma therapist has revealed a surprisingly simple eye trick to stop a panic attack in its tracks, and all it takes is a pen, and a few minutes.
Lauren Auer, a trauma therapist from Illinois specializing in psychotherapy techniques like Brainspotting, shared a simple eye movement technique on Instagram to ‘knock out panic attack’.
The technique works by activating the Oculocardiac reflex, which helps calm the vagus nerve and regulate breathing. This reflex is also known to decrease heart rate and is typically triggered by applying gentle pressure to areas around the eye, such as the eyeball, eyelids, or eyebrows.
However, Auer demonstrated that you do not even need to touch your eyes to activate the response. Simply shifting your focus back and forth between a highlighter or any object placed in front of you can achieve the same effect.
“Here I’m using a highlighter but you can really use any object. All you do is hold it in front you to focus close up on the object and then move your gaze beyond that point and then back to that point. So you’re kind of focusing close up, far away, and back and forth,” she said in the video that has already grabbed 18 million views.
Auer explained that around 80% of the information we take in comes through vision, making it a powerful channel for influencing our mental and emotional states. Vision is closely linked to brain function, with eye movements reflecting and even shaping our cognitive and emotional responses.
The retina, which plays a crucial role in processing visual information, is actually an extension of the developing brain. This deep connection between vision and the brain explains why certain eye movement techniques can have a calming effect on the nervous system.
“Almost ½ the brain is connected to visual processing. The tranquility of the mind and activation of the eyes are linked,” she said.
“This works. Our eyes are amazing and connected to so many major body and emotional processes,” she added.
