How to Cope with Panic Attacks
Panic attacks can feel overwhelming—your heart races, your chest tightens, your thoughts spiral, and you may even feel like you’re losing control. While these moments can be frightening, there are practical tools you can use to help calm your body and mind. Two effective approaches are mindfulness and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills. Let’s explore how you can use both to regain a sense of calm when panic strikes.
Understanding Panic Attacks
A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort, often accompanied by physical symptoms like:
Rapid heartbeat
Shortness of breath
Sweating or chills
Dizziness
A sense of impending doom
While panic attacks can feel dangerous, they are not physically harmful. They are your body’s fight-or-flight system misfiring, and with the right techniques, you can help ease them.
How Mindfulness Helps
Mindfulness is the practice of staying present in the moment without judgment. Panic thrives on fear about what’s happening or what might happen next, pulling you into a cycle of escalating anxiety. Mindfulness interrupts this cycle by grounding you in the here and now.
Looking at nature or being in nature is calming to our nervous system.
Try this Mindful Breathing Exercise:
Find a comfortable position.
Place your hand on your belly and take slow, deep breaths.
Inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of two, and exhale for a count of six.
Focus your attention on the sensation of your breath and the feeling of your hand rising and falling.
If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath.
Repeat this for 1-3 minutes until you feel your body begin to relax.
Using DBT Skills During Panic
Dialectical Behavior Therapy offers practical tools to help regulate intense emotions. Two especially helpful skills for panic are TIP skills (Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing, Paired Muscle Relaxation) and self-soothing.
Try the TIP Skills:
Temperature: Splash your face with cold water or hold a cool pack on your face for a few seconds to activate your body’s calming reflex. You may even want to try a cold shower.
Intense Exercise: Do a short burst of activity, like jumping jacks or running in place, to burn off adrenaline.
Paced Breathing: Breathe in for 4, out for 6, to slow your heart rate.
Paired Muscle Relaxation: Tense and relax muscle groups while exhaling. Here is a link for guided PMR audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HUcX8ZtAk
Self-Soothing Example: Use your senses to ground yourself—light a calming candle, listen to soft music, or focus on a comforting texture.
Combining Mindfulness and DBT
By staying present with mindfulness and actively using DBT skills, you can:
Calm your nervous system
Break free from the panic cycle
Feel more grounded
Build resilience against future panic attacks
Building a Routine
Like any skill, these techniques work best with practice. Try incorporating 5 minutes of mindful breathing or DBT skills into your daily routine, so when a panic attack strikes, your body already knows how to respond.
When to Seek Professional Help
While mindfulness and DBT skills can be powerful tools, frequent or severe panic attacks may indicate an anxiety disorder. Emotions are information, and panic attacks happen for a reason. Consider speaking with a mental health professional for tailored support.
By practicing mindfulness and DBT, you can regain control over your body and mind, easing panic and building long-term resilience.
