When Anxiety Feels Like You're Dying, Do This First | Dr. Mandell

When anxiety hits hard, it can feel like something is seriously wrong. Your heart races or skips. Your head feels light, foggy, disconnected. Your chest feels tight. Your stomach shuts down. Sleep disappears. In that moment, it doesn’t feel like anxiety. It feels like you’re dying.

In this video, I explain what is actually happening inside your body when anxiety and panic strike, using clear physiology instead of fear. You’ll learn how the nervous system switches into fight or flight, why adrenaline and cortisol surge, why blood flow shifts away from digestion and the limbs, and how changes in breathing and carbon dioxide levels can make you feel dizzy, unreal, and out of control.

Most importantly, I show you what to do first to interrupt the panic loop. These are simple, immediate techniques that send safety signals back to the brain, calm the nervous system, and help your body reset in real time.

Understanding what’s happening removes fear.

Removing fear breaks the loop.

This video is for anyone who has experienced panic attacks, anxiety spikes, heart racing, dizziness, chest tightness, brain fog, or that overwhelming feeling that something terrible is about to happen.

Your body is not failing you. It’s responding to a false alarm, and you can take control.

As always, your body will love you back.