How To Survive a Panic Attack Part 2
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.
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about using the Square Breathing technique to manage a panic attack. In this article, I will talk about a second technique, Grounding.
What is Grounding?
I learned how to use grounding (also sometimes called “situational awareness”) back when I was suffering from PTSD and I was getting flashbacks. By using grounding techniques, I was able to control my flashbacks and get myself calmed down. Later on, I also found that grounding worked for panic attacks. It’s a good skill to have.
The idea behind grounding is that it helps you manage your panic attacks or flashbacks by teaching you to concentrate on the “real” world around you, instead of the false fears and images that your brain is creating. It takes some practice, but it is a very useful trick to know, especially when a flashback or panic attack catches you off guard. (which, for me, was “always”)
There are two types of grounding that I used: 1) Body Awareness and 2) Room awareness. Because they are very different, I’ll talk about them separately.
Body Awareness
What you need
- Your body
- Somewhere to sit
How it works
This exercise takes approx. 5-10 minutes.
Find a quiet place where you can sit down comfortably. I preferred an easy chair, but anywhere that you can sit and relax will be fine.
Once you are sitting comfortably, close your eyes and begin the exercise. Begin by focussing on your feet; how they feel, what they are touching, how your shoes feel on your toes. Keep doing this for at least 30 seconds.
Then, focus on your lower legs; are they touching the chair? Can you feel your socks? Keep focussing on your lower legs for at least 30 seconds.
Next, focus on your knees. Are they touching anything? Keep this up for 30 seconds.
Then, focus on your thighs. Are they relaxed? Can you feel them touching the chair? Again, keep this up for 30 seconds.
Continue the exercise for your hips, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, neck and finally, your head. Spend thirty seconds on each body part, and try to focus on what that part is sensing.
When you finish the exercise, keep your eyes closed for a bit and focus on your entire body. You should feel a sense of general awareness and, if you are lucky, you will also be more relaxed. (relaxation is not the goal of this exercise but it is a nice fringe benefit!)
When you are ready, open your eyes, take a deep breath, and enjoy your inner peace.
Room Awareness
What you need
A quiet room, or a quiet place outdoors, like a park
How it works
This exercise can take as long as you need, but it usually takes 15 minutes.
Room awareness is a great technique for flashbacks, but I have also used it for panic attacks. It’s a bit tricky to learn, so it’s a good idea to practice it a few times before you need to use it.
The room awareness exercise begins the same way as body awareness. When you feel a panic attack or flashback beginning (or, if you get no warning, when you realize that you are in the middle of an attack) sit, or lie down, in a room that is safe and familiar to you. If you are out in an area you don’t know, try to find a park or a public bathroom. The idea is to find somewhere that is safe and where you won’t be interrupted. Once you have made yourself comfortable, you can begin the exercise.
I used 2 room awareness methods: grouping objects, and listening to sounds.
Grouping
Here’s what you do; try to spot objects and then group them into fours by something that they all have in common. The objects can be anything, like a light fixture, or the wall, or a chair. The trick is to find something that they all have in common.
It’s just like the game on Sesame Street where you try to find the kid that is different (”three of this kids belong together, three of these kids are kind of the same”) except that you want to find 4 things that are the same and group them together.
One of the best ways to do this is by color. So start by seeing if you can spot 4 red objects. Once you have found 4 red objects, try to find 4 blue objects, then 4 green objects, then 4 yellow objects, and so on.
If you are somewhere where there are not many objects, like a bathroom for example, you can try body awareness, above, or try something repetitive such as counting the tiles on the floor.
Listening
Another way to do this exercise is with sounds. This is a great way to do it if you are outdoors. In this case, you won’t be focusing on grouping objects that are alike; instead, you will be trying to focus on sounds, one at a time.
Close your eyes and try to focus on the sounds around you. Try to pick out single sounds. Can you hear a bird? Can you hear a car?
The trick is to listen to each sound on its own. It’s a bit like listening to music and trying to pick out single instruments.
Whichever method you choose, keep doing the exercise until you will gradually feel yourself calming down and becoming more aware of your body and your surroundings. As this happens, you should also feel the panic beginning to disappear as well. If it doesn’t, keep trying the exercise until you feel calmer. It usually took me around 15 minutes of grounding before my panic attacks ended, although for the really bad ones it could take longer.
Don’t Panic - Final Words
Panic attacks suck. There is no getting around it. They are miserable and they make you feel like are out of control of your life. However, I hope that by sharing these tricks I have given you a couple of tools that you can use to manage them. They sure worked for me.
Square breathing and grounding worked wonders for me, but they both take practice. They are both pretty easy to learn, but you definitely want to practice them before you need them. The last thing you want is to be frantically reading through this page trying to figure out how grounding works. Practice makes perfect. I can’t emphasize that enough.
These are only two techniques that work for panic attacks. I am sure that there are many more out there. If anyone has a trick that they would like to share (or that they would like me to add to this site) please drop me a line or share it in the comments to this article.
A final note, if you are having frequent panic attacks, or flashbacks of events that you don’t remember, it is a good idea to speak to your doctor or a therapist. Attacks and flashbacks can be treated through therapy so there is no need to suffer through them.
That’s about it. Please let me know if these tricks work for you. And, if you have a panic attack, please be easy on yourself. They aren’t your fault. Try to stay as calm as possible and don’t beat yourself up over it. And when the attack is over, be kind to yourself. Give yourself a reward for surviving the attack, like a bath, or a special meal, or a movie. You deserve it.
Anxiety Health Mental Health Panic Panic-Attack Relaxation Stress
Brandon responds:
Posted: February 27th, 2007 at 7:15 pm →
Your post reminded me that juggling can help take your mind off of stressful thoughts. It works best if you can’t even juggle. You’ll be busy trying to keep them in the air, and your mind will have less time to worry. Plus, just moving your arms helps release nervous energy. I used to grab a couple of lemons off the counter. When I was really stressing, I would sit cross-legged on the floor, but sometimes toss them high enough to hit the ceiling. Other than that, I took this class which was very helpful for me: http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/srp/index.aspx.
Scott Davis responds:
Posted: February 27th, 2007 at 7:21 pm →
Brandon,
That’s very cool! I never thought of juggling when I had panic attacks. Thanks for the link.
Scott
Christy responds:
Posted: February 28th, 2007 at 8:17 am →
A few tricks I’ve learned:
- Can I move my little toe? There are times when I feel paralyzed by panic and feel completely out of control of my environment. I ask myself “Can I move my little toe?” Then I wiggle it. That’s the cue that I do have control over something. Sometimes that’s enough to get me moving but other times I have to go through a litany of body parts until I realize that I am in control and am not being threatened. Can I shake my foot? Can I lift my shoulders? Can I blink my eyes? The reminder that I am not completely out of control works for me.
-A grounding trick that works for me is sitting or lying on the floor while I do square breathing (which I do but have never heard that term). Often when I sit in a chair, I have my feet tucked under me. I MUST put my feet on the floor to begin the grounding process but sometimes, I skip that all together and just get down on the floor.
I’m thrilled to have found your site through the Happiness Project Blog.
Scott Davis responds:
Posted: February 28th, 2007 at 8:29 pm →
Ditto on the feet on the floor thing. I also had to take my shoes off so I could feel the floor with my feet. There must be some sort of security thing involving feet.
o responds:
Posted: February 12th, 2008 at 7:44 am →
the juggling thing is something that I notice by accidentally!
I thought I was the only one that notice that.
Juggling really help!!
because so much concentration is needed..
and besides, later on u can use it even when you don’t have panic attack.
it is nice feature to have