How to Calm an Anxiety Attack: 6 Techniques

6 Helpful Techniques On How To Calm An Anxiety Attack

I was driving on the parkway to my then boyfriend’s house singing along to the radio when traffic started to slow down considerably. I eventually saw a cop car parked ON the parkway perpendicular to the lanes in the road. The policeman was directing all vehicles to take the nearby exit. My heart started to race. I didn’t know how to get from the town I had just landed to my destination! I was a relatively newish driver at the time and didn’t know what to do.

Traffic was slow, and there were a few cops around, so I pulled to the side of the road to ask a cop for directions. He said something like two lefts, a right and a left. By then, I was breathing heavily, and felt lightheaded. My limbs were tingling. I tried my best to follow the lefts and rights but lost track and ended up lost. I called my boyfriend at the time and couldn’t even get words out in between my heavy gasps for air. I couldn’t breathe; my chest was so tight.

I had no idea what I was experiencing in my body. It was nothing like I’d ever felt. I learned later that this was my first anxiety attack. And since then, I’ve collected a few tips for how to calm an anxiety attack that I want to pass on to you! After reading this post, you’ll learn how to calm down during an anxiety attack with confidence by using calming techniques which will allow you to feel empowered.

What Do Anxiety Attacks Feel Like?

An anxiety attack can come on when you’re triggered in some way. Typically, you feel stressed, and your brain’s stress response kicks in.

Ever heard of fight or flight? Your brain amps up the production of cortisol, a stress hormone, and this causes certain physiological symptoms such as:

Increased heart rate
Blurred vision
Lightheadedness
Hot flashes
Tingling sensation in your body
Tightness of your chest/pressure
Short and fast breathing
Nausea
Sweating

For me, anxiety attacks are characterized by hyperventilating, a racing heart, and tingling in my body (usually my limbs and even the roof of my mouth!).

You may feel different dominant sensations, but those above are what you should look out for and note.

I want to mention that an anxiety attack is usually characterized by a few of these symptoms at once, in a short, intense few moments. Just because you feel nauseous doesn’t mean you’re experiencing an anxiety attack. Or, just because you have a hot flash, you’re not necessarily experiencing an anxiety attack.

Related reading: My Top Strategy for Finding Comfort

What Causes Anxiety Attacks?

For many people, stressful circumstances in life, like a project at work or school, can cause a build-up of stress. When a deadline approaches, you might feel anxious.

I’ve found that the tipping point where I go from anxious (just general nerves that don’t get in the way of my everyday life) to having an anxiety attack is when I’m pressed for time within that already-stressful situation.

In my example, at the beginning of this post, I was on my way to a BBQ that I was now going to be late for. Had I not had a party to get to on time (there was a lot riding on this, as it was my first gathering with my boyfriend’s parents, and I wanted to make a good impression), maybe I wouldn’t have had an anxiety attack come on.

Another time I experienced an anxiety attack was when I had to make a tricky decision right away. I had no time to weigh my options.

So I’ve discovered that a trigger of mine is being rushed and pressed for time when things are already stressful.

I’d encourage you to think back, and maybe journal about the times when you’ve experienced an anxiety attack. What was the tipping point for you that pushed you from just being a little nervous or anxious to have a full-blown anxiety attack? (There IS a difference.)

Reflect on what brings on anxiety attacks in your life specifically. Aside from me giving you general answers like stressful situations building and things piling up, you need to understand what your specific triggers are.

And once you do, you’ll feel so empowered because you’ll have the knowledge to get ahead of anxiety attacks before they happen by managing the trigger. Maybe you expose yourself to less of that trigger or have a support system with you if you know you’ll be affected by a trigger.

How to Calm an Anxiety Attack

Okay, now let’s get to the techniques!

You can use these strategies as tools to keep in your back pocket when you feel an anxiety attack coming on.

Grounding

This technique is my favourite and has helped me the most! The concept is simple: focus on your senses when you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack.

You can do this in a few structured ways:

Name 1 thing you can see, 1 thing you can hear, 1 thing you can smell, 1 thing you can taste, 1 thing you can feel. Then run through that cycle again but name different things if you can. Continue this, repeating the cycle running through all your senses until you feel calm and your heart rate and breathing have returned to normal.
Work in a descending order- name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. (The order of the senses doesn’t matter, but I like to keep smell and taste toward the end because there’s only so many things you can taste at once.)

Square Breathing

This is a type of breathing exercise to stop an anxiety attack that you can incorporate easily.

Square breathing or box breathing is breathing in, holding the breath for a moment, breathing out, and holding for another moment before repeating.

Try this: 4 counts in, hold for two counts, four counts out, hold for two counts, repeat.

Don’t worry about the counts too much. As long as you’re breathing in, holding, breathing out, and holding. Do as deep a breath as feels comfortable. And if you can’t quite get to 4 counts, adjust accordingly.

The pattern alone should be enough for you to regain control of your breathing and help calm your anxiety attack.

Blow up a “Balloon”

This is another breathing exercise you can engage in to stop an anxiety attack. Simply breathe in through your nose, and blow out slowly and steadily through your mouth with pursed lips (similar to how they’d take shape if you were blowing up a balloon or blowing out a candle). Aim to make your exhales longer than your inhales. If it helps, you can also hold your fist up to your mouth and rest your lips on your curled pointer finger and thumb as if you were actually holding a balloon.

Most breathing variations and exercises let your nervous system know it’s time to start calming down, which will help stop your anxiety attack and bring your body back to homeostasis.

Focus on One Object

When you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack, your thoughts are swirling around, probably mostly negative and maladaptive, so a way to stop those anxious thoughts is to focus on something else completely.

This type of distraction will slowly calm all the physiological symptoms you feel during an anxiety attack. Try to pick one thing around you and notice every single thing you can about it.

For example: You might see a book in your line of sight. Start to take note of all the details about the book. How it’s placed on the table, if the corners are worn, how thick the book is, how long you think it would take you to read it, the colour of the cover, the font of the title, and so on. It doesn’t matter what your observations are; just make as many observations as you can until you’ve stopped your anxiety attack.

Visualization

If you’re mid anxiety attack, closing your eyes can help. You’ll be reducing the amount of visual stimuli coming in. Once your eyes are closed, try to visualize yourself in your happiest place.

Knowing what this place is ahead of time is helpful. So go ahead and think it up right now. To help you figure it out, you can ask yourself questions like:

Where do I feel most at peace?

When I’m most relaxed and happy, am I alone or with others? Who am I with?

What environment makes me feel calm?

Your happy place might be the library, the beach, a certain town in another state or country that you’ve been to before or dream of going to, your bed, a yoga studio, your backyard, the mountains… the list goes on!

So when you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack, you can calm down by visualizing your happy place in all its glory. Visualize every detail! All the senses you experience! What’s around you, who’s around you, what the temperature is, how you feel, what objects are around, what you’re doing, and so on.

This visualization technique will soothe your nervous system and help slow down, shift your thoughts to more positive and adaptive ones, and in turn, bring you out of the anxiety attack.

Have a Go-To Phrase

Another way to help calm down during an anxiety attack is to repeat a short, meaningful phrase over and over.

Mine is simple: “I’m okay, I can get through this, I can do this.”

A simple yet powerful affirmation like this will start to turn your thoughts toward something positive and distract you.

Some call it a mantra, some call it an affirmation. Either way, it’s something to cling to when everything else seems to be spinning around you.

Tip: If you’re looking for ways to prevent panic attacks in the first place, try these:

Get enough sleep- shoot for 8 hours
Exercise regularly- good for both your physical and mental health
Do regular thought dumps- jot down every single thing on your mind, and don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or making sense
Keep to a healthy, realistic schedule- regularity and predictability in life is soothing and will reduce unnecessary stress
Make a habit of relaxing- don’t run yourself ragged, when your body or mind asks for a break, take a break

Let’s Bring it Home

I hope now you feel confident knowing if you’re experiencing an anxiety attack, understanding what triggers them to try to get ahead of it, and stopping them in their tracks once they’ve started. You have 6 techniques to keep in the back of your mind to help you calm down during an anxiety attack now, so allow yourself to feel empowered! You have the tools and knowledge to control your experience.

Share this with someone who struggles with anxiety and spread the wealth!

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A Massive Thank you to my fellow blogger for writing this piece!

Skye is a 20-something located at the Jersey Shore, USA. She’s a cat lady, Jesus follower, and beach girl who loves sweets! Skye is married with 2 cats and a rescue pup. She spends her days working for a non-profit, and her nights pursuing her passion for writing and blogging. She believes in finding time to do what brings you joy, finding stillness in the busyness, and sticking to a self-care routine.

Make sure to check out her blog.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Take care and stay safe.