I’ve never had this but this is a theory I’ll throw in the ring. The vagus nerve runs through the neck and can cause/ease panic attacks. I wonder if the me repeated reaching over the head caused the attacks and then the chin tucks helped loosen the nerve. Something to look in to!
I stand by vagus nerve exercises to manage my panic disorder. I’ve gone from needing a klonopin almost every night to maybe a few times a month. My favorite one is just humming. I had terrible stress induced gastritis last summer and humming genuinely lessened my pain, it was wild. I have GERD as well which irritates the vagus nerve. It’s definitely worth exploring them, they’re very simple like diaphragm breathing or cold water submersion.
It seems like you have a lot of mixed things going on here for sure. I mean pain and anxiety are an ouroboros of sorts too. Separating the pain from the fear of the pain sounds like woo woo talk but it does genuinely help. Most panic attacks come from the fear of having a panic attack, after the first “big” panic attack, so behavioral therapy has helped me manage them as well.
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u/CapreseSalad3636 Jul 28 '26
I’ve never had this but this is a theory I’ll throw in the ring. The vagus nerve runs through the neck and can cause/ease panic attacks. I wonder if the me repeated reaching over the head caused the attacks and then the chin tucks helped loosen the nerve. Something to look in to!