Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning.
And welcome back, you guys.
This week's topic is panic.
Uh, maybe we should take the stairs?
No way.
Why?
I don't know.
I don't like elevators.
Every time I have to get in one, I get the heebie-jeebies.
Are you serious?
Come on.
It's only down floors.
Chillax.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
What happened?
Okay, don't freak out.
We're going to be okay.
Somebody will realize we're here soon.
You don't, you don't, you don't understand.
Listen, you're hyperventilating.
I need you to take a deep breath and go to your happy place, okay?
Can you do that for me?
They're going to come real soon, okay?
Okay.
Now, if you could just move a bit so I can press the alarm, that would be... What?
What happened?
Well, I'm pretty sure you were keeping the stop button pressed with your head.
All right, let's begin right away with expression number one, the heebie-jeebies.
Every time I have to get in one, I get the heebie-jeebies.
I love this expression.
I think it's so much fun.
Anyway, if you get the heebie-jeebies, how do you feel?
Happy and relaxed or scared and anxious?
If you get the heebie-jeebies, you're scared and anxious.
So imagine you have to walk home at night.
You're by yourself.
Maybe you're in a parking lot and nobody else is there.
You might get the heebie-jeebies.
You know that feeling when you're like a little, hmm, this doesn't feel right.
I feel very unsafe right now.
That's when you get the heebie-jeebies.
So what kind of things give you the heebie-jeebies?
Um...
I think what I just said.
I think walking by myself at night, depending on the area where I'm at, but it, you know, or maybe even worse, if it's just me and somebody else and I'm taking the subway, for example, then I would definitely get the heebie-jeebies.
Expression number two, chillax.
Come on, it's only 10 floors, chillax.
If someone tells you to chillax, do they want you to calm down or run away?
If someone tells you to chillax, they want you to calm down.
They want you to relax.
That's kind of where the expression comes from, from the word relax.
And is it polite to tell someone to chillax?
Not really.
When you use the word, the expression chillax, usually it's because you think the person is overreacting.
So they're having a reaction that is not justified for the circumstances.
And so...
You're kind of, in a way, you're making fun of them, okay?
Imagine you see a bug and you think it's silly.
You know, it's only a bug.
And the other person is really scared.
You can tell them, you know, chillax.
It's only a bug.
Don't worry about it.
That's a spirit in which you say it.
So no, it's not super nice, but it's not super rude either.
So when was the last time someone told you or should have told you to chillax?
Uh, so I gave side before I'm like constantly stressed.
I always find a reason to be stressed out.
So I think the last time that I felt kind of scared and very, very anxious was when I thought I couldn't find a job.
And uh, my boyfriend was.
You know, I was really nervous, but my boyfriend kept, kept on saying like you know chillax, like You're going to find something.
Don't worry about it.
Expression number three, freak out.
Okay, don't freak out.
We're going to be okay.
If you freak out, are you feeling calm or are you panicking?
You're definitely panicking.
If you're freaking out, that means that you're really scared.
How intense are the feelings you feel when freaking out?
They are really intense.
Freaking out is a very, you know, it's a pretty big reaction to something.
So you are either very, very scared or very anxious or very worried.
But, you know, it means that you cannot even think properly.
You know, you just go into panic mode.
What are some of the most common causes for someone to freak out?
Well, there could obviously be several reasons.
Like we said, maybe you're scared.
You hate snakes and you see a snake and you start freaking out.
Or maybe you're just super worried.
Imagine being a mom and your kid was supposed to be home at 2 and he's not home yet.
So you start freaking out.
So anything that will cause you to be extremely anxious or extremely scared or worried, that's what is going to make you freak out.
When was the last time you freaked out and why?
Okay, the last time I freaked out was...
A couple of weeks ago, we just moved into this new place and I couldn't find my hard drive, where I had stored a lot of important information and a lot of important files.
And I just started freaking out because I thought I had either lost it or I had left it at a three apartments in the in the previous week.
So yeah, I started freaking out.
And that's actually was what.
That was one of the times when my boyfriend was like chillax, we're gonna solve this.
And then we found my hard drive.
And he was, I forget where he was.
Maybe in a drawer or something.
But yeah, so yeah, I really freaked out.
I started opening all the cabinets and screaming and being like, where is it?
But yeah, all good.
Expression number four, hyperventilate.
Listen, you're hyperventilating.
If you hyperventilate, do you breathe more or less rapidly than usual?
If you hyperventilate, you breathe more rapidly.
So you go, right?
Like the girl in the story.
What are the main causes of hyperventilation?
I believe one of the main causes would be fear or like anxiety.
So if you're having a panic attack or an anxiety attack, sometimes that will cause you to hyperventilate.
Was there ever a time when you started to hyperventilate Yeah.
So unfortunately, there have been times.
So I actually – something I think I haven't mentioned on the podcast before, but I do suffer from anxiety attacks.
I'm a pretty anxious person.
And when I say pretty, I mean a lot.
And so yeah, sometimes I do have anxiety attacks sometimes.
And for, you know, a number of reasons or no reason at all sometimes.
And I start to hyperventilate.
So, yeah, that's not fun.
Okay, go to your happy place.
We like this expression better.
I need you to take a deep breath and go to your happy place.
If someone tells you to go to your happy place, do you have to physically move and go somewhere else?
Well no, if someone tells you to go to your happy place, it just means that you need to use your imagination to put yourself in a situation where you feel happier.
And in which situation does it help to go to your happy place?
So imagine that you're scared or that you're, you know, really nervous or really anxious.
If you go to your happy place mentally, you bring yourself, you take yourself to a place that is calm and happy, something you know.
Maybe you start remembering happy moments from your life.
Yeah. that can help you ease the anxiety, that can help you feel better and more calm.
What is your happy place and do you think going to your happy place can help you overcome difficult situations?
Usually, if I'm having an anxiety attack, I don't normally go to my happy place, like it's, I don't know.
It's something like in that moment I just can't.
But there are times when maybe I can sleep at night and I try to go to my happy place.
And I actually have a few happy places.
One of them would be – it's usually connected to water though.
So I'm either floating.
So maybe I'm like on a boat floating on a river, or usually I'm underwater with like a bunch of fish.
So yeah, those I think would be my two happy places.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
