How To Guides · 03
How to ground yourself during a panic wave
To ground yourself during panic, work with the body first. Breathe out longer than you breathe in, put your feet flat and press down, name five things you can see, cool your hands or face, and let the wave crest without fighting it. Panic peaks within minutes and cannot harm you.
Step by step
- 01Make the out-breath longerIn for four, out for six or eight. The long exhale is what signals safety to the nervous system — breathing in harder makes it worse.
- 02Get weight through your feetFeet flat, press down, feel the floor push back. Standing with a hand on a wall works when sitting feels impossible.
- 03Name five things you can seeOut loud if you can. Naming pulls attention out of the internal alarm and into the room you are actually in.
- 04Cool the systemCold water on the wrists or face, or a cold drink held in both hands. It interrupts the escalation physically.
- 05Let it crestSay to yourself: this peaks and passes, and it cannot hurt me. Fighting a wave keeps it going; riding it shortens it.
Practise the sequence when you are calm. A technique learned during panic is rarely available during panic — rehearsed once a day for a week, it becomes automatic.
If panic is happening regularly, the goal of counselling is not better coping alone. It is reducing the fear of the panic itself, which is what shrinks the frequency.
Questions
How long does a panic attack last?+
Symptoms usually peak within a few minutes and settle within twenty to thirty. It feels far longer.
Should I go to hospital?+
If chest pain is new, severe or unlike previous panic, treat it as a medical issue and call 000. Otherwise ground and let it pass, and see your GP to rule out physical causes.
Related service
Anxiety Counselling
Anxiety is a warning system doing its job too well. We turn the volume down and give you the controls.
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