What has worked for you when dealing with a panic attack?

Whenever I am having a panic attack I put my hands on a flat surface (a wall, table etc) I have found that helpful and found out recently that others do too

I stop what I'm doing, take a few deep breaths, and try to think of things that I can do to get back in control of the situation

When I first started suffering from regular panic attacks, my boyfriend came up with a brilliant way of calming me down. A huge problem for me was that I would feel like I was losing my vision and hearing. So he'd gently sit next me and in his calmest voice, he'd ask me to look at things and describe them to him. Having to focus on something and hearing a calm and reassuring voice helped a lot, even something as simple as 'How many colours can you see on that pillow?'

My first priority when having an attack is to get to a safe space. Safe Spaces include my bedroom, or any room that can be locked from the inside, with no other people in it. I like to find a wall to sit or lie against, so my back is shielded (a corner is even better). Nobody should talk to me, and definitely not touch me, while I'm panicking, with the exception of a very few people, and even then only if I initiate it. I have a specific song that I listen to on repeat when the attack starts to subside.

Im not quite certain if i have had any But i know for a fact that im dealing with strong anxity. I have found that joga is a great method dealing with anxity. Staying present and in your body, not in your mind, can really work wonders!

The biggest thing was identifying that it's a panic attack. There are different things that work for different people. Being able to deal with it can get pretty tough hence it's preferred to do what calms you down. Just try to ask for help from someone or explore ways that you know would definitely help you

Meditation - it also helps prevent them by calming your everyday stream of thoughts. When I am at school I just walk out the class and go outside for a run or just some fresh air. Focusing on breathing + taking deep breaths. Shutting my brain off. The fears only exist in your head.

Stop what I'm doing. Calmly collecting myself and breathe in through my nose and exhale out my mouth.

I found read something which suggested saying the alphabet, out loud backwards works. It really helped me. It helps because you have to concentrate on what the next letter is going to be and saying it out loud means that your breathing is focused on saying the letters.

For me, I go to my room and play my favourite song through my headphones on replay and repeat the same breathing techniques until I'm calm. Everyone has their own way is dealing with them, and this is what works best for me.

When experiencing a panic attack, I've found it very helpful to have a plan in place to deal with it. I use a grounding exercise that involves going to a quiet place with open sky if possible (removing myself from potential triggers and assisting in feelings of safety and ability to engage in flight behaviour, but making it my choice not to), sitting down and rooting my energy through my tailbone into the earth's core (visualization of stability and oneness), and focusing on breathing rhythmically into a meditative pattern (diversion of attention and focus to a different physical sensation that will incidentally prevent hyperventilation). I engage in that for about ten to fifteen minutes, the chest pain usually eases around five minutes into the practice, and the rest is just to allow time for my parasympathetic nervous system to calm things down on all levels. After that, I reassure myself things are okay, I am safe and alive and healthy and whole (affirmation of overall wellbeing) and if possible, try to return to what I was doing before to teach my brain that the stimulus wasn't a threat (reframing the experience to one of non-panic).

Praying and running a hot shower in the bathroom for the steam to help me control breathing. Or take a shower in general it removes allot of tension.

Deep breathing, focusing on one thing and setting my mind on it. Drinking water or juice and counting my swallows.

Counting 1-4 while breathing in and 5-8 while breathing out :) I do this until I feel the panic feelings are more manageable.

listening to music helps me out the most. especially when its calming. another thing that helps is learning independence through panic attacks because someone will not always be their to help you. think to yourself why you're panicking, and just know it'll be over soon and encourage yourself to breath. panic attacks don't last forever

For me I breathe deeply and count as I do so so that I don’t end up breathing too quickly. I also try to get out of the present situation if that’s what’s causing my panic attack. I try to think about something else that I know tends to work for me. I can look at photos of my puppy, watch an episode of something that engages me, listen to calming music...it depends. If something doesn’t work I try something else. I also try to accept that it’s happening and that even if it doesn’t feel like it, I WILL make it through the hard time to the other side. The feeling is not permanent. I try to have as much faith that I can that I will feel better. Sometimes I do a form of vigorous exercise to give the anxiety a physiological reason to be present which channels the energy and dissipates it. But don’t use that technique if you are in the panic attacks and feeling faint. I use that technique only at the beginning when I sense the panic coming on.

Breathing exercises tended to work for me and to imagine an good image in my head to keep me distracted from my panic attack. I also tend to go for a walk afterwards to calm myself down from the situation that made me feel that way in the first place. And then go back to what I was doing and refresh my mind from what happened before. It really does help when you are in a panicked situation like that. Talking to your friends about not after who are understanding can also help as well to remind you that you are not alone

Panic attacks don't always happen in the most convenient places, so it would be ideal to have more than one coping mechanism... My personal one, is to go into a room and name everything I can see and the colour. In example, right now, I would say, "black laptop", "grey carpet", "white door" etc. Another one I find very helpful, is something called "grounding". You breathe slowly and then bring your awareness to 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 emotion you can feel... Those two work for me, they might work for you too :)

What helps me during an attack is different every time. It could be deep breathing, changing my thoughts, medication, taking care of myself like getting sleep, music, talking to someone, stepping away from everything, prayer, stepping outside, nature, or a bath. Sometimes my anxiety turns into full blown panic attacks which are harder to calm down from but self care really helps. I have downloaded some apps like headspace, and calm to help get me through them. I have also found that reading helps. Sometimes the same things that help are the ones that make it worse. So it's important to understand and be in tune with your attacks, your mind, and your body.

For me focusing on what i see, hear, smeel, feel in my surrounding rather than on panic attack helped me to reduce the duration of panic attacks and helped me to become calmer and soothed after panic attack quicker. I was distracting self from symptoms and signs of panic attack while focusing on what i see, hear, smell and touch in my surrounding and it helped me a lot. I think that it is worth trying. Just not think about what your automatic negative thoughts want to tell you as it will make panic attack worse. Panic attacks in me are driven by automatic negative thoughts.

It's important to sit down and try to focus on your breathing. Just inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale. Try to think about your inhaling and exhaling and forget the rest.

I don't have panic attacks anymore thankfully, I had them when I was younger but I had a little couple of steps to take when I had them. First, relax by taking slow, deep, complete breaths. Calm yourself by remembering that you are only having a panic attack and that nothing more serious is happening to you. Stop negative thinking, shout 'Stop!' to yourself if it's necessary. Then replace the negative thought with a positive one. Finally, accepting your feelings is very important. Don't deny them, try to see them and understand why you're feeling this way. You can become the person that you choose to be.

Something that is always helping me is listening to music. Mostly to a specific song that really makes me feel better because of it's lyrics and melody. Maybe a song that reminds me of a happy memory. To me, music is the best way to calm down and fill your mind with positive thoughts and feelings.

Concentrating on my breathing and keeping it regular and calm (as I hyperventilate). Singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star was a life saver when I first started to learn to keep my breathing regular as due to the rhythm of the song I found it impossible to hyperventilate and sing it plus it was a distraction thinking of the lyrics

Calm, and deep breaths. I like to sit back and just clear my mind, also make sure there isn't anything stressful around me.

i find that when i paint or sketch i tend to feel better, sometimes doing something that you do not do all the time but that you love doing really helps you focus enough to not realize the panic

Diving straight into the waves. And then imagining myself just floating, and letting myself be thrashed around the waves - I'm accepting the situation as it is. And then eventually, it stops. The deeper I dive, the sooner it ends.

I have diagnosed panic disorder. I am going through CBT and it's working. It's more of a training/therapy rather than strictly "talking" style therapy. It will help you understand what is panic attack and follow a strategic plan that works for your specific case to learn to cope and eventually get rid of it.

If by dealing you mean controlling panic attacks, then slowing my breathing and relaxing my muscles usually helps me calm down.

Trying to occupy my mind with something unrelated to what is getting me nervous. If I have no clue why I'm in such a state holding onto someone I love helps.