125. Panic Attacks Explained: The Collision of Two Alarms and How to Break Free

Hello everyone!

You’ve probably heard me talk about alarm - that raw, uncomfortable sensation in the body that actually drives anxiety. But in this episode, I break it down further into two distinct types: foreground alarm and background alarm.

Foreground alarm is the big, loud stuff (like someone jumping out and scaring you, or feelings of unease before a big presentation). It’s sharp, intense, and impossible to ignore.
Background alarm is quieter. It hums under the surface (like chronic tension, unease, a vague sense that something’s off, even when nothing obvious is happening.)

These two types of alarm shape your experience with anxiety in very different ways, and in this episode, I’ll walk you through how they interact, why they often go unrecognized, and how they can make it feel like anxiety is coming out of nowhere.

More importantly, I’ll share what to do about it. Not by trying to outthink it (you know how I feel about that), but by learning how to soothe the alarm in your body - through presence, breath, and connection.

If you’ve ever felt blindsided by panic or trapped in chronic anxiety without knowing why, this episode will help you finally understand what’s really going on.

Thank you for listening and you can find me on IG and TikTok here: @theanxietymd

P.S. If you would like to join the MBRX family of 5000+ anxiety HEALERS who are shifting from coping with their anxiety to actually HEALING it, click the link below:

https://www.theanxietymd.com/MBRX

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Understanding Anxiety as Alarm

07:58 Foreground vs Background Alarm

15:39 Panic Attacks and Their Triggers

17:26 Understanding the Alarm in Your Body

17:55 Metabolizing Your Feelings

18:52 Healing Through Acceptance