‘Focus, Breathe, And Center’: This New Pill Might ‘Cure’ Panic Attacks
Anxiety can be crippling ... but can this simple treatment fix everything?
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Subscribe for free to get more stories like this directly to your inboxAnyone who has suffered from severe anxiety or panic attacks already understands the feeling of desperation and helplessness that can accompany such issues. And while there are techniques and treatments available to reduce the distress, some are unreliable while others could come with unwanted side effects.
That’s why something being referred to as the “yoga pill” is starting to attract a lot of attention.
What it is and what it does
Salk Institute associate professor Dr. Sung Han says his team has been researching the symptoms of anxiety disorders and safe, effective ways to reverse them.
In the end, experts discovered an apparent shortcut between the brain’s frontal cortex and stem that can regulate breathing. Since deep breaths are one of the hallmark manifestations of anxiety, tackling that symptom could help calm the others.
“By turning on that, activating this certain population of neuron, we saw that the breathing rate is dramatically decreased and also the anxiety state was also decreased,” Han added. “By targeting this specific pathway, we can develop specific drugs that only alleviate the anxiety, not causing other serious side effects.”
Though Han didn’t name any of the other anxiety treatments available, one of the most common is called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which has been linked to side effects including:
- Sleep disruption
- Intestinal problems
- Dizziness
“Everywhere in the brain”
What sets the “yoga pill” apart from medications like SSRIs is that it is designed to only address the pathway between the brainstem and frontal cortex, sending a message to “focus, breathe, and center.”
Other treatments, Han noted, travel “everywhere in the brain” and can cause some collateral damage along the way.
Researchers believe the new strategy could help alleviate all sorts of debilitating anxiety — including post-traumatic stress disorder — without disrupting other aspects of life.
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