3 Simple Tools To Calm Down a Panic Attack
Are you tired of having panic attacks?
They’re incredibly scary and often feel life threatening. Most people think they’re going to die or that they’re losing their mind, and they don’t know what to do.
During a panic attack, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode because your threat system believes you’re in danger. Fight-or-flight is meant to mobilize you for action, not for thinking clearly.
This is why it can be so hard to think straight or know what to do! If a bear is charging, you don’t have time to consider your options, your body is already moving.
The good news is that there are simple ways to reduce the severity and frequency of panic attacks. Here are 3 ways to calm down during a panic attack and prevent them from happening again.
What are the signs of a panic attack?
There are a few signs that indicate you’re having a panic attack or about to experience one. Here are some the most common symptoms:
Difficulty breathing: it feels like something’s sitting on your chest, making it hard to breathe in and out normally
Heart palpitations: your heart begins beating way too fast, almost feeling like a heart attack
Dizziness, sweating, or trembling: you have intense physical symptoms as though you’ve just run mile, and your body feels out of control
Panic: panicky or racing thoughts that are overwhelming. You worry that each attack will last forever
Confusion and overwhelm: you can’t think straight or remember anything. This is your brain preparing for fight-or-flight by shutting down your “higher thinking” brain
While panic attacks can feel sudden and unexpected, there are usually warning signs or patterns you may be unaware of. A trusted therapist can help you uncover these patterns, in the meantime there are tools you can use to reduce your immediate symptoms.
Related: How to Stop Worrying & Overthinking
How to calm down during a panic attack
Here are 3 quick and easy tools to help you calm down during a panic attack:
Deep Belly Breathing
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise
Object Focus
Note: the best way to implement these skills is to practice when you’re already feeling calm. This will help you get used to these exercises, making it much more likely you’ll recall them whenever you notice you’re not feeling well.
Set aside a few minutes each day to practice by setting a daily calendar or phone reminder.
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Tool #1: Deep Belly Breathing
Whenever you notice an anxious thought or a physical symptom (like shaking or sweating), it could be a sign that your brain has subconsciously noticed a threat.
The best thing to do is start taking slow, deep breaths from your belly to calm down.
Breathing in your chest is shallow and gets your adrenaline pumping, which is why your heart starts pumping hard during an attack. Your body thinks you need to run from a threat!
Belly breaths are like a nervous system reset: it’s the quickest way to let your brain know everything is OK. Push your stomach out to fill it with air, then slowly exhale through your mouth.
Important tip: In order to help your system deactivate fight-or-flight, make your exhale longer than your inhale. This stimulates the part of your nervous system in direct opposition to fight-or-flight, called “rest and digest”.
Deep Belly Breathing instructions:
Sit upright and put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your stomach
Inhale through your nose for a few seconds, making sure to expand your belly, hold for a few seconds, and then slowly breathe out your mouth
Quick tip: You don’t have to be exact with your counting as long as the exhale is longer
Repeat several times until you notice a sense of calm washing over you
If you’re having difficulty expanding your belly (or if you’re trying to teach this tool to a child/teen), lay down and place a book on your stomach and make it move up and down
Tool #2: 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise
Grounding yourself means orienting to where you are in the present moment. This can involve literally pressing your feet into the ground or simply looking around your environment.
During a panic attack, you can feel completely disconnected from your surroundings, almost like tunnel vision.
By naming what’s around you and orienting yourself to the present, you’re expanding your awareness and bringing your thinking brain back online.
Quick tip: If this exercise feels too complicated, just name the things you see out loud at random.
Grounding Exercise Instructions:
Take a deep belly breath to begin (see above instructions)
5 - SEE: Look for five things you can see and say them out loud. Try to be as descriptive as possible (“I see a blue lamp with a white shade” versus “I see a lamp”)
4 - FEEL: Pay attention to your body and think of four things you can feel and say them out loud. This can be things like your feet on the floor, hair on the back of your neck, or a soft blanket
3 - HEAR: Listen for three sounds in your surroundings. It might be traffic outside, birds chirping, or even the sound of you breathing in and out. Say these three things out loud
2 - SMELL: Say two things you can smell. If you can’t smell anything in particular, then name your two favorite smells
1 - TASTE: Say one thing you can taste. If you can’t taste anything, name your favorite taste or food
Take another deep belly breath to finish
Tool #3: Focus on an object
Once you’ve taken some deep breaths and grounded yourself, pick one object to focus on and mindfully study it.
The point of this exercise is to extend the process of grounding yourself in the present.
By paying attention to and studying an object in your environment, you’re continuing to bring your thinking brain back online.
It can also help you refocus your attention away from any automatic thoughts that may be making your panic attack worse or reactions to the physical sensations you feel. Automatic reactions to a panic attack can exacerbate symptoms, so it can be incredibly helpful to bring other elements of your awareness into focus.
Object Focus Instructions:
Find an object to focus on and take some time to really notice it
Feel the weight in your hands and notice what it feels like to hold it
Mindfully study it like a scientist: Is it smooth? Rough? Squishy? What colors are you seeing? Are there any other unique characteristics?
Say out loud what you’re seeing and noticing. You can stick to one object or do this with several objects
How to practice these skills
Did you know that when you start to feel a panic attack coming on (or even in times of stress), your brain can automatically shut down “non-essential” functioning processes?
This is why you probably won’t remember these tools when you start to panic. It’s your brain doing it’s job! Imagine if you bumped into a tiger: spending precious seconds or minutes considering what to do would mean certain death.
The easiest way to override this is to write down skills somewhere easily accessible, like your phone, a post-it note, or a planner. If you start to feel an attack coming on, look at your notes to remind you what to do.
Keeping them accessible means you’ll get the full benefit. And practicing every day can help rewire your brain to respond more effectively whenever you feel anxious, panicky, or threatened.
Related: 5 Ways to Reduce Stress Today
10 ways to help someone having a panic attack
Does your partner, family member, or friend suffer from panic attacks?
It’s really hard to see someone suffering and not know what to do. Here are some tips to help them calm down or to give your family and friends if you’re the one having them:
Practice deep belly breathing with them every day
Download an app like Calm or Insight Timer and use it together
Hold their hand to help them ground themselves in the present moment
Ask them to name what they see around them out loud
Have them name five things they can see, four things they can feel, three things they can hear, two things they can smell, and one thing they can taste
Have them squeeze each arm using their opposite hand
Say something like “I’m here with you right now” rather than “You’re OK” or “Everything is alright” because in that moment, they don’t actually feel OK
Ask them to solve a math equation or count backwards from 20
Have them spell their name backwards and then spell yours as well
Have them focus on a specific sound or piece of music
You can also ask them what’s been helpful and not so helpful in the past! Make a plan for what you’ll both do if they begin to have an attack out in public, or somewhere where you’re stuck (like in a car).
You can then cope ahead by bringing an object to focus on, music, or anything else that’s soothing.
Whatever the cause of your panic attacks, know that it’s possible to not only calm them down, but stop them altogether.
The key is noticing when you’re starting to panic and practicing these activities to let your nervous system know that you’re not in any immediate danger. The more you practice, the easier it gets.
Stick with it, even if they don’t work the first time. Give it some time and you’ll see your symptoms start to fade.
