Panic attacks are, almost by definition, scary things. They can come on with almost no warning and from no stimuli that you can notice, but can leave you with a very physical reaction of anxiety and panic.
Whilst there are many reasons for panic attacks, from different triggers to various diagnosis of conditions, there is a fairly common way of helping to calm yourself when you are experiencing a panic attack, a way that is common because it does work.
By making sure you run through the procedure below you can help yourself ease through the reaction that a panic attack can bring, enabling you to calm down. This is not a medical treatment, and doctors should be consulted if panic attacks become a major issue.
How to help yourself calm down
Firstly relax all your body. It sounds tough but try to physically relax the muscles, noting areas that are especially tense. Try to keep your mind focused on relaxing them one at a time.
Once you have done so, and are almost consciously aware of all your muscles, start to tense each muscle group in turn – slowly, with pauses in between. Don’t worry about how to group the muscles, just keep it general such as ‘left arm’ or ’stomach’.
Keep your breathing slow and methodical as you do so, deep and slow breaths in and out.
By forcing the mind to focus on the body it helps to remove the trigger that set the panic attack in the first place, allowing you, or the person who is experiencing the panic attack, to calm down more easily and quickly than they would otherwise be able to. With practice, or perseverance, you can stop panic attacks naturally.