Coping with Panic Attacks

What is happening in a panic attack

A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear, accompanied by very real physical sensations: a pounding heart, breathlessness, dizziness, tingling, a sense that something terrible is about to happen. It can feel like a heart attack or like you are losing control.

Here is the crucial thing to hold on to: a panic attack is not dangerous. It is your body's alarm system firing at full volume with no actual threat present. It is intensely unpleasant, but it cannot harm you, and it will pass. Panic attacks always pass.

Riding the wave

The instinct is to fight the panic or run from it, but resisting tends to feed it. Instead, try to let it move through you.

Remind yourself: this is panic, it is uncomfortable, and it is not dangerous. Slow your breathing, with a long, steady out-breath. Drop your shoulders. Rather than fleeing the situation, see if you can stay and let the wave rise, crest, and fall. It typically peaks within a few minutes and then eases.

Why avoiding situations makes it worse

After a panic attack, it is natural to start avoiding the place or situation where it happened. The problem is that avoidance teaches your brain that the situation really was dangerous, which makes the fear grow and your world shrink.

Gently returning to those situations, at a manageable pace, is one of the most effective ways to break panic's hold. This is often easier with support.