How to Break a Panic Attack in 2 Minutes

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How to Break a Panic Attack in 2 Minutes"

Podcast: Change Your Brain Every Day
Hosts: Dr. Daniel Amen & Tana Amen
Episode Date: October 24, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen dive into practical strategies to combat panic attacks, focusing specifically on the transformative power of diaphragmatic (belly) breathing. The episode is filled with actionable exercises, memorable anecdotes, and simplified explanations of why mastering your breath is crucial for mental and physical health. The hosts emphasize how conscious breathing improves brain function and offer step-by-step guidance to break a panic attack within two minutes.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Impact of Breathing on Brain Health

• Dr. Amen opens by affirming, "Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse." (00:02) This sets the tone on the importance of deliberate action for brain health.
• He explains the brain's high oxygen demands: "Your brain is the most oxygen hungry organ in your body...2% of your body's weight, about 3 pounds. But it uses 20% of the oxygen in your body." (00:39)

2. Introduction to Diaphragmatic Breathing

• Dr. Amen emphasizes belly breathing, noting, "If you ever watched a baby breathe or a puppy breathe, always with their belly...they keep their chest still." (01:40)
• Instruction for proper technique:
  • "When you breathe in, I want you to stick your belly out. And when you breathe out, I want you to stick your belly in. And I want you to exaggerate it initially." (01:41)
  • "Lay down on the couch, I'll put a book on your belly, and we'll just watch the book go up when you breathe in, watch it go down when you breathe out, and practice it." (01:47)
  • Tana notes the value: "This is really interesting to watch the book, I mean, they usually say, like, put your hands on there and watch it rise...This is a lot better." (03:24, 03:34)

3. Breathing Exercise: Timing and Technique

• Dr. Amen guides: "Think about four seconds in, hold it just for a second, and eight seconds out." (02:46)
• Tana expresses commitment: "I'm going to work on this whole thing for a while." (03:24)
• Encouragement to practice regularly for skill-building: "Just over time, it's a skill to build, but you're already doing it just about perfect." (02:46)

4. Making It Fun and Relatable

• Dr. Amen introduces playful cues:
  • Swapping the book for an anteater plush: "Let me trade the book for the anteater..." (03:37)
  • "You want to get rid of the ants? I'll let you take him home. You need a Ty Beanie Baby because...you don't need any ants, so you have to have an anteater." (03:53, 04:01)
• Adds levity to reduce anxiety around the exercise.

5. Psychological Benefits of Breath Control

• Dr. Amen connects breath to emotions: "When you have sad thoughts or mad thoughts or anxious thoughts, your breathing disintegrates. As you start to breathe with your chest, you breathe fast, it's more erratic. And the simplest thing to do is just get control of your breathing." (04:10)
• Advocacy for regular practice: "So you have to practice this a couple times a day. And then when you need it... you'll know how to do it." (04:20)

6. Ultimate Takeaway – Breaking a Panic Attack

• Closing advice: "It's the very first thing to do to break a panic attack." (04:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dr. Daniel Amen (00:02): "Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse."
• Dr. Daniel Amen (00:39): "Your brain is the most oxygen hungry organ in your body...It uses 20% of the oxygen in your body."
• Dr. Daniel Amen (01:41): "When you breathe in, I want you to stick your belly out. And when you breathe out, I want you to stick your belly in. And I want you to exaggerate it initially."
• Tana Amen (03:24): "I'm going to work on this whole thing for a while. This is really interesting to watch the book..."
• Dr. Daniel Amen (04:10): "When you have sad thoughts or mad thoughts or anxious thoughts, your breathing disintegrates. And the simplest thing to do is just get control of your breathing."
• Dr. Daniel Amen (04:30): "It's the very first thing to do to break a panic attack."

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Oxygen and Brain Function: 00:39
• Belly Breathing vs. Chest Breathing: 01:40
• Book-on-Belly Breathing Exercise: 01:47
• Breath Count Guidance (4 seconds in, 8 seconds out): 02:46
• Discussion of Skill-Building and Practice: 02:46, 04:20
• Connecting Breath and Emotions: 04:10
• Key Takeaway - Panic Attack Solution: 04:30

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Summary for Listeners

Throughout the episode, Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen demystify anxiety-reduction techniques and powerfully demonstrate how intentional, deep belly breathing can immediately impact panic attacks and foster long-term brain health. The episode is peppered with easy-to-follow exercises, playful analogies, and scientific reasoning—making it both accessible and motivational. Their central message: practicing diaphragmatic breathing daily is an essential, effective tool in your mental health toolkit.

Transcript

[A]

Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better. Every day I'm going to teach you diaphragmatic breathing. Because if you do that and breathe with your belly. And when you're beautiful, beautiful women hold their stomachs in.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And they wear tight clothes. Hilarious. I don't want you wearing tight clothes.

[B]

Right, Me neither. If I'm doing all this diaphragm.

[A]

Because. Because so imagine these are your lungs. And, you know, you breathe so that you get oxygen. And your brain is the most oxygen hungry organ in your body. So it's 2% of your body's weight, about 3 pounds. But it uses 20% of the oxygen in your body. So when we do whole body scans, it's like the brain's little heater. And everything else is ghostly in between your lungs and your belly. You have a big muscle and the muscle is called your diaphragm. And you know, in your belly you have all sorts of stuff. You have a liver and a pancreas and kidneys and stomach, 30ft of intestines, you have a lot. Yeah. And if you ever watched a baby breathe or a puppy breathe, always with their belly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They keep their chest still. And it's all here. So when you breathe in, I want you to stick your belly out. And when you breathe out, I want you to stick your belly in. And I want you to exaggerate it initially. So what I'll have you do is I'll have you lay down on the couch, I'll put a book on your belly, and we'll just watch the book go up when you breathe in, watch it go down when you breathe out, and practice it. But this skill from a singer's perspective, you'll double your lung capacity. Because when you stick your belly out, you flatten the diaphragm and it doubles your lung capacity. All right, lay down, put your head over here. We're doing it.

[B]

Okay, okay. Okay. And I just breathe. My stomach.

[A]

Yeah, Slow, deep, mostly stomach. What I want you to do is think about four seconds in, hold it just for a second, and eight seconds out. Yeah, you're doing great. And just try to keep your chest still. And just over time, it's a skill to build, but you're already doing it just about perfect.

[B]

I'm going to work on this whole thing for a while. This is really interesting to watch the book, I mean, they usually say, like, put your hands on there and watch it rise.

[A]

But I don't know.

[B]

This is a lot better.

[A]

Yeah, no, you're doing great. So practice this at home. Or another thing. Let me trade the book for the anteater, because you know why we have.

[B]

What's up, bro?

[A]

Yeah, my aunts.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You want to get rid of the ants? I'll let you take him home.

[B]

You need a Ty Beanie Baby, because.

[A]

It'S like, you don't need any ants, so you have to have an anteater.

[B]

It's hilarious to get rid of it.

[A]

And when you have sad thoughts or mad thoughts or anxious thoughts, your breathing disintegrates. As you start to breathe with your chest, you breathe fast, it's more erratic. And the simplest thing to do is just get control of your breathing. So you have to practice this a couple times a day. And then when you need it, like you're going to perform and you get anxious or you're in a situation that makes you anxious, you'll know how to do it. It's the very first thing to do to break a panic attack. La.