How To Survive a Panic Attack Part 1
Note: If you are having a panic attack right now, get help. Call a friend, call your therapist or doctor, or even call your local crisis center (the number is on the inside of the front cover of your phone book). Call someone. Don’t try to ride a panic attack out alone.
Panic attacks suck.
I can remember my worst one like it was yesterday. A friend of ours had given us a pet snake as a gift (long story), and one day, the snake somehow got out of his cage.
And disappeared.
We started looking for him, but we couldn’t find him anywhere and I began to panic. Thoughts were rushing through my head; “What if he got into the ductwork?” (we lived in a condo at the time), “what if he dies somewhere where we can’t reach him?” I completely lost it. I couldn’t breathe, my heart was pounding and I got dizzy. All I could think about was all the horrible things that could happen if we couldn’t find that snake.
We eventually found him under the fridge and stuck him back in his cage. (note: If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you need to find a snake, always check under the fridge. 99% of the time that’s where they go) But I was badly rattled, and I was anxious for days afterwards. I jumped at noises, and I worried about everything. It was clear that I needed a better way to survive panic attacks.
What’s a Panic Attack?
I spoke to my therapist about the panic attack, and she explained that panic attacks are “misplaced” fear responses. Here’s how they work:
In a normal “fear” situation such as an animal attack, our brain responds by causing us to panic (”Arg! A tiger! Run!”) so that we will be able to either run from the danger or to fight it.
In a panic attack, the brain misinterprets “scary, but not dangerous” information,(”Arg! I missed the bus!), as “dangerous” information, (”Now I’m going to get fired for sure!”) which then triggers a panic reaction and kicks the body into survival mode. The result is a panic attack. (Note: Since I wrote this article, it has been brought to my attention that some forms of panic attacks can emerge without any stimulus whatsoever. I’m not sure if the techniques that I describe below will work for these types of panic attacks, does anyone have any experiences that they can share?)
Panic attacks are survivable. The trick is to use calming exercises to relax your body so that it comes out of “survival mode” and you can deal with the “scary, but not dangerous” information appropriately.
My therapist taught me two exercises that worked wonders for me. They are Square Breathing, and Grounding. I will talk about Grounding in Part 2 of this article, but today I want to talk about “Square Breathing.”
Square Breathing
“Square” breathing is an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use technique for quickly reducing stress. It isn’t a long-term solution for panic attacks, but it will help you to get calmed down so you can assess your situation. Also, you can do it in public, so it’s very useful if you have a panic attack in a public place and you can’t get somewhere private.
What you will need
A stopwatch or a clock; or a friend to time you
How it works
This trick takes four minutes.
- Begin by slowly breathing in for four seconds. (It’s helpful to count 4 Mississippis)
- Hold your breath for four seconds
- Slowly breathe out for four seconds
- wait four seconds (don’t breathe in)
- Repeat steps 1 - 4
Keep doing this for four minutes.
This trick is called square breathing because an easy way to remember it is to picture each step as a side on a square, and then work your way around the square, beginning at “breathe in.” (Click on the diagram for a printer-friendly version)
I like square breathing because it’s quick and it works, and you can do it anywhere. It doesn’t just work for panic attacks either. I use square breathing to manage stress, or just when I want to relax. It’s a great tool to have. Try it out the next time you feel yourself getting stressed.
In Part 2 of this series I will talk about grounding techniques.
Anxiety Health Mental Health Panic Panic-Attack Relaxation Stress
Michael Paterson responds:
Posted: February 4th, 2007 at 12:22 pm →
Scotty,
Congratulations on putting up the site. Its incredibly well put together, thought out and organized. I gotta admit I was really surprised by the content and your experiences, but you know what… I’m just happy to know you’re doing well and feeling great.
I think it’s a really big deal to put yourself out here on the proverbial limb like this, and to have the courage to do so says a whole lot about you and the strength of your convictions. Then again, I already knew about the strength of your convictions and character buddy.
Good luck and let’s get together soon man!
-Mike
Burhan responds:
Posted: February 5th, 2007 at 8:42 am →
Scott, this is amazing. I wish I had the courage to write about things that are so personal. People may argue that writing this may make you more vulnerable to criticism by others, but I think that for you, it makes you stronger. Through this, you make each of us stronger, by realizing our own weaknesses and faults, and perhaps finding our own place to be honest about ourselves. Thank you!
Brad responds:
Posted: April 27th, 2007 at 9:25 pm →
Hey There Scott,
Nice site man.
Thanks for the square breathing technique, I can see how it may help people out. I look forward to the 2nd part of the article - grounding technique.
All the best man,
Brad
Tracy responds:
Posted: July 10th, 2007 at 8:54 am →
I have had panic attacks since I was 14 years old, but I didn’t know what they were until I was 17 and I went to see a therapist. The doctor prescribed me some medications but it is very important for people to also know how to talk their way through or breath their way through a panic attack because the meds. are not going make panic attacks disappear all together! It always helped me to talk to someone until it passed, even when I didn’t know they were panic attacks, I talked to my Uncle, either on the phone or in person; but it always helped. However, my uncle passed away in 1997 and I thought I won’t get through another panic attack because he wasn’t here to talk to me but I learned how to talk myself out of PA or to do the breathing techniques, and that really helped me, thank you!
hailey currie responds:
Posted: September 1st, 2007 at 5:55 pm →
my name is hailey, age 17,and i had my first panic attack last night (wish i never hv one again) i hv a history of bullying and depression (sad act i know) bt i hv had help from a phycologist and have also recived hypnotheripy……. i hvnt been bullyed for about 2 years bt still carry the memories, even now is it possible to hv a panic attack over somthing that i should be and feel im over?
i found ur site really helpfull and i will be definatly be trying the breathing techniques if ever needed… also is a paper bag a good idea to carry around??
THANX!
moonbuggy responds:
Posted: October 26th, 2007 at 4:42 am →
When you mentioned panic attacks that set in without stimulus, you were basically talking about a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
There can be various causes for such a disorder, and I’m not familiar with them all, but there are some that are certainly very difficult to manage.
Certain anxiety disorders, such as post-stroke GAD, seem to be the product of actual physical injury, and not really treatable from a psychological point of view.
A typical attack arrives from out of nowhere, without any stimulus at all. Your head can be completely clear, and you can be happy, and then suddenly: fear. Lots and lots of fear. Your body fills with adrenalin, your heart starts to race and your muscles will start to twitch.
Attacks of this sort can last days or even weeks. There is no logic behind them, you can’t rationally consider the stimulus that caused it because there is no stimulus.
Breathing and other relaxation techniques are slightly effective for the short term [i.e. several minutes] but they are only a distraction from the panic and don’t really resolve anything. The panic returns as soon as you’re no longer concentrating on breathing.
And you can’t concentrate on breathing for two weeks straight. So, the answer in a case like this is Valium.
Scott Davis responds:
Posted: October 26th, 2007 at 6:47 pm →
I was more of a Xanax fan.
Thanks Moonbuggy for the explanation. I have to admit that I was completely unaware of the type of panic attacks that you describe.
breathing techniques responds:
Posted: November 6th, 2007 at 8:09 am →
I enjoyed your article, I never heard of your technique square breathing before. Thanks for a great tip.
Panic Guy responds:
Posted: December 29th, 2007 at 1:20 pm →
This is a very good and thorough article. I like your explanation about the breathing techniques. Another effective technique is what experts usually call “Questions and Answers.” To begin, be seated comfortably with eyes closed, and begin mentally asking yourself some questions like What does it feel like to be calm and relaxed? and How would it feel right now if I were at peace with myself and the world?. If I ask the above questions calmly and slowly to myself, I usually get better quite soon. Just a recommendation, it could not do any harm.