Alex Patrick, a Dallas dance instructor and founder of SHAPPE Dance Company, has experienced intense self-doubt and intense stress throughout her career. After landing important roles, she often felt unworthy and incompetent. Sometimes the compounded stress and difficult emotions she felt about dancing would cause Patrick to have panic attacks. “Most of my panic attack moments involve big thoughts like, ‘There’s no place for me in the dance world. Why is something I love so much going nowhere? Why do I feel like I don’t have a place to speak out or be able to Be yourself?” Patrick explained.
Now, Patrick strives to bring her first-hand knowledge of mental health into the classroom to not only support students with their dance technique and performance, but also to help them cope with the challenging emotions that may arise in the studio and on stage.
What is a panic attack?
Josh Spell, MSW, LICSW, a consulting therapist with Pacific Northwest Ballet and owner of Flexible Counseling, describes panic attacks as “being overwhelmed, as far as your nervous system is concerned.” state, adding that panic attacks are related to the body’s fighting.
A person having a panic attack may experience palpitations, sweating, tremors, shortness of breath, a feeling of choking, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, feelings of chills or warmth, and/or a feeling of numbness and tightness. Speer also said panic attacks can lead to depersonalization or derealization, which means a person feels disconnected from their body and/or the present moment. “Dancers and clients I’ve worked with say, ‘I feel like I’m having a heart attack, I feel this tremendous pressure and weight,’” Speer said. “It’s very unstable and people often freeze up.”
Although panic attacks sometimes seem to have no cause, a stressful environment or fear of losing control may be potential triggers. People can be triggered by everything from an upcoming performance to concerns about their health.
How do panic attacks affect dancers?
While panic attacks can be incredibly scary and debilitating for anyone, the performance-based nature of dance presents additional challenges. For Patrick, intense anxiety that sometimes led to panic kept her from auditioning. “I felt like I wouldn’t be able to pass the audition because of my anxiety,” she recalls.
Panic attacks may also cause people to avoid or increase anxiety about situations that triggered panic in the past, Speer added. For example, if a dancer experiences a panic attack before a performance, they may have increased performance anxiety and may even avoid a certain step out of fear.
“In general, it affects a dancer’s sense of self, and it definitely affects their confidence,” Speer said. “It becomes a barrier to committing yourself fully and taking the risks that being a dancer requires. This conditioning starts to evolve into a more paralyzing state.
Treatment and Coping Tools
For dancers experiencing panic attacks, Speer recommends seeking professional help. Mental health professionals can provide tailored guidance to help find the best treatment options. Speer said health care providers often start by explaining the biology of panic disorder. Exposure-based treatments can then be used, which help reduce the body’s fear response when approaching the trigger point. Stress resistance skills, such as mindfulness and grounding techniques, are often taught in conjunction with therapy.
The lessons learned in therapy can be applied whenever panic and anxiety begin to set in. For example, exercises that shift your attention to paying attention to your five senses may be helpful during times of pain. Spell recommends sensory items like fidget spinners or soft balls, and Patrick suggests aromatherapy, as well as a visual exercise called “Find Your Rainbow,” which involves identifying items in your surroundings that correspond to each color of the rainbow. She also emphasized the importance of taking breaks during class or rehearsal for dancers who need time to use these skills to cope with challenging emotions.
It’s also important to understand what’s going on inside your body. “Sometimes this fight-or-flight response is taken out of context,” Speer said. “There’s no saber-toothed tiger chasing someone anymore, but maybe going to an audition or getting ready to go on stage can feel like being chased. You can remind yourself, ‘Okay, this is my body’s way of protecting me, but I don’t need to right now. It protects me. I have other ways of experiencing and coping with my anxiety.”
Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
According to therapist Josh Spell, MSW, LICSW, about 20 percent of people will experience a panic disorder in their lives. However, a small percentage of people experience panic disorder, which is characterized by recurring panic attacks lasting a month or more, accompanied by fear of another panic attack in the future. Panic disorder can also cause an individual to avoid certain stimuli or situations that they believe may trigger an attack.
