A panic attack is a false alarm: a sudden surge of intense fear with a racing heart, tight chest, dizziness, or a feeling of losing control, peaking within minutes. Stopping one is less about fighting it and more about convincing your nervous system the alarm is false. The short version: slow your exhale, name what is happening, ground your senses, and let the wave crest instead of running from it. Panic that is fought grows; panic that is allowed passes.
Panic is common: an estimated 2 to 3% of U.S. adults experience panic disorder in a given year, and many more have occasional attacks (National Institute of Mental Health).
One caveat before anything else: sudden chest pain or symptoms you have never had before deserve a medical check at least once. Let a physician rule out other causes; after that, you can trust the panic playbook.
Not sure whether what you had was panic at all? See panic attack vs. anxiety attack.
In the moment
- Name it. Say to yourself: “This is a panic attack. It peaks and passes. It cannot hurt me.” Labeling it engages the thinking brain and starts to cut the alarm.
- Lengthen your exhale. Breathe in through your nose for about four counts, out slowly for six or more. The long exhale is the body’s built-in brake; a few minutes of it slows the heart on its own.
- Ground your senses. Feel your feet on the floor. Then find five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, one you can taste. Cold water on your hands or face also works.
- Stay put if you safely can. Fleeing teaches your brain the place was dangerous, which sets up the next attack. Letting the wave pass where you are teaches it the opposite.
- Do not fight it. Resisting panic is fuel. The stance that works is almost paradoxical: “Okay, panic, do your thing. I’ll be here when you’re done.”
What makes panic worse
| Helps | Backfires |
|---|---|
| Long, slow exhales | Gulping air or breath-holding |
| Naming it as panic | Interpreting it as a heart attack or “going crazy” |
| Riding the wave in place | Fleeing the situation |
| Cutting caffeine, sleeping well | Extra coffee, alcohol to cope, running on empty |
| Treating the pattern with therapy | Organizing your life around avoiding the next one |
Stopping the next one
Surviving an attack is the short game. The long game is breaking the loop that produces them, because panic feeds on the fear of panic. After one bad attack, the brain starts scanning the body for danger signals, and that scanning triggers the next attack. Cognitive behavioral therapy with interoceptive exposure retrains that alarm directly, and it is the most effective known treatment for panic.
As Jack Foley, LMFT, puts it:
“In-the-moment techniques are real, but they’re first aid. The people who stop having panic attacks are the ones who treat the fear of the attacks, and that work is often faster than people expect.”
If panic is recurring, or you have started avoiding places because of it, our panic attack therapy does exactly this work, within our wider anxiety care, in person in the South Bay and online across California. A free 15-minute consultation is an easy first step.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time.
References
- National Institute of Mental Health, Panic Disorder
- American Psychological Association, Answers to your questions about panic disorder