If you suffer from panic attacks, I’m sorry to hear that. I know how awful it can be. And if you’re having one right now, just breathe and keep reading. I’m going to share with you a technique for helping them calm down.
Whether you have anxiety, panic disorder, or PTSD, panic attacks can ensue and are an inconvenience when they interrupt your daily life. So today we’re going to talk about what to do if they hit.
Tips
First thing first, don’t judge yourself for being in this situation. You’re not wrong or bad for reacting in this way and it is not your fault. And most of all, understand that this will pass. It’s okay to be panicking, don’t try to shut it down just yet.
Secondly, if you’re hyperventilating, try to lengthen your breath out. It might seem scary and like you’ll run out of air, but it actually helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which is your body’s calming response. So the longer you breathe out, the more physically calm you’ll become over time.
And if you’re having trouble controlling your breathing, another idea is to breathe into a paper bag. The air still moves through, but it is denser so it forces you to bring your breathing to a slow, if you don’t mind the idea of breathing through a paper bag in public.
Something to try
Thirdly, there is an exercise you can do to help ground yourself into your surroundings again, we’re calling it 54321. So try this out:
5. Look around, name five things you can see.
4: find four things you can feel.
3: listen for three things you can hear.
2: find two things you can smell.
1: identify one thing you can taste.
This will help you get more grounded in your surroundings, and help you connect to your body through your senses.
Aftermath
Once you’ve gotten through your panic attack, be gentle with yourself. You might want to do some light movement like stretching, dancing or going through a walk. Do some slow, deep breathing or meditation. And let yourself slowly re-enter your day again.
You may want to take a gentle look at what exactly it was that triggered you, and how you might be able to avoid or resolve it in the future, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself immediately after having a panic attack. Let yourself come back down first before you try to dredge all that back up for analysis.
Just remember that you are amazing, and this doesn’t make you any less of a capable person. You will overcome these triggers in time, and you are beautiful, even now as you’re struggling. I hope you were able to find something useful for your panic attacks today, and if you have any more tips for what to do during a panic attack, let us know in the comments so we can all learn from each other!
