Nicole LePera

Living has become increasingly more stressful with the closeness, the endless stimulation on our phones.

And so all of the information that we can now get from around the world.

So stress, though, isn't

nor can it be avoided.

The goal is to learn how to cope with more stress, to see the habits that we've relied on, because that's what our body is doing.

It's trying to remove the stress as quickly as possible, sometimes by not even noticing the amount of stress that our body is under.

And then teaching not just through intentions or affirmations, teaching our body how to cope with more amounts of stress so that we don't have to go back to relying on those old habits.

And we will continue to do so until we get our body on board.

So I have a lot of compassion for the panic attacks because well through my 20s, I had

one after the other.

I happened to be in training to be a clinical psychologist.

So logically, I knew it was a panic attack, though in that moment, I was convinced it was a heart attack.

I would have my shoes on the bed.

I'd be curled up.

I was in New York City with a big jacket on, ready to take myself to the nearest emergency room, even though logically, I know, okay, I know what panic, you know, I've heard of what it feels like.

But when you're feeling it,

your body takes over.

And that's what panic and stress, the more mild version that a lot of us live with, that's telling us in those signals our body is sending.

Our muscles becoming tense, our heart racing, our breath quickening.

It's sending the signal that our body is perceiving a threat in the moment.