What to Do During a Panic Attack
1. Breathing relaxation: Breathing relaxation helps a lot during a panic attack. Because the affected person breathes very rapidly, the level of oxygen in the body rises — this is called hyperventilation — creating an imbalance between carbon dioxide and oxygen. To restore the balance, practise breathing relaxation as follows:
- Sit down in a quiet place. Rest both hands on your knees and close your eyes.
- Take a deep breath, filling your chest, and hold it for 4–5 seconds (you can count the seconds on your fingers if you like).
- Now slowly release the breath through your mouth.
- Breathe in again.
- As you breathe in, imagine fresh air flowing through your body and feel yourself relaxing.
This process restores the balance of oxygen in the brain. The more oxygen the brain has, the better it performs.
2. Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR): PMR is an anxiety-reduction technique in which the body's major muscle groups are tensed and then relaxed in turn.
Steps to practise:
- Find a quiet place free of distractions. Lie down on the floor or sit reclined in a chair, loosen any tight clothing, and remove your glasses.
- Take a few slow, even breaths.
Now focus your attention on the following areas in turn — tense each muscle for about 15 seconds, then slowly release it while counting to 30, noticing the feeling of relaxation. Keep the rest of your body relaxed and breathe slowly and evenly:
- Forehead: squeeze the forehead muscles, then release.
- Jaw: tighten the jaw muscles, then release.
- Neck and shoulders: raise your shoulders toward your ears to build tension, then release.
- Fists: clench your fists tightly, then release.
- Chest: take a deep breath, hold about 5 seconds, then breathe out all the tension.
- Stomach: pull your stomach in and tighten the muscles, hold about 5 seconds, then release.
- Buttocks: squeeze firmly, then release.
- Thighs: press your heels into the floor or chair and tense the thigh muscles, then release.
- Calves: point your toes toward your head and tighten the calf muscles, then release.
- Feet: curl your toes downward as if making a fist, then release.
Repeat this process with each muscle group.
