How to Stop a Panic Attack with Nervous System Regulation

A panic attack can feel like something bad is about to happen, even when nothing around you is actually threatening.

Your heart races, your chest tightens, your breathing changes, and your mind may tell you something terrible is happening. You can sweat or feel light headed.

If this is happening right now, the goal is not to “think your way out”. The goal is to help your nervous system come back towards safety, one small step at a time.

This article is for information only and is not a substitute for medical care. If you have chest pain, fainting, severe breathlessness, new symptoms, or you feel at risk of harming yourself, seek urgent help now. In the UK, call 999 in an emergency or 111 if you need urgent medical advice.

What to do during a panic attack to slow it down

The first thing to remember is simple: panic attacks are frightening, but they are not dangerous in themselves. They are a surge of the body’s threat response. Your brain has pressed the alarm button. Your body is preparing to run, fight, freeze, or brace.

1) Name what is happening

Say, either out loud or in your head:

“This is a panic attack. It feels awful, but it will pass.”

Naming it matters because panic often worsens when the sensations feel mysterious. A racing heart can trigger the thought, “Something is wrong.” That thought adds more fear, and the fear adds more adrenaline.

A clear label interrupts the loop.

2) Make your exhale longer

Do not force huge breaths. That can make dizziness worse. Instead, breathe gently.

Try this:

• Breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds

• Breathe out slowly for 5 or 6 seconds

• Repeat for one minute

  
  

The longer exhale signals to the body that it can relax. If counting feels too much, simply whisper “out” as you breathe out.

3) Ground through your senses

Look around and name:

• 5 things you can see

• 4 things you can feel

• 3 things you can hear

• 2 things you can smell

• 1 thing you can taste

  
  

This brings attention away from racing thoughts and back to the present moment. Panic pulls you into “what if”. Grounding brings you back to “what is” happening right now.

Loosen the body

Panic often makes people tense up without noticing. Check your jaw, shoulders, hands, stomach, and feet.

Try this:

• Tighten your shoulders then drop your shoulders

• Clench then unclench your jaw

• Open your hands

• Press your feet into the floor hard then relax them on the ground.

• Let your belly soften on the exhale

  
  

You do not need to become perfectly relaxed. You only need to send the body small messages of safety.

What to avoid when panic hits

When panic is intense, the instinct is to escape the feeling as fast as possible. Some reactions help in the short term but keep the fear cycle alive.

Try not to:

• Fight the symptoms

• Search your body over and over for danger or sensations

• Google symptoms during the attack- or infact ever Dr Google will not help

• Take repeated pulse or blood pressure checks unless advised by your GP

• Run away from every place where panic appears

  
  

Avoiding panic can teach the brain that the sensations are dangerous. With support and practice, the brain can learn a different message: “This is uncomfortable, but I can ride it out.”

How to help anxiety

Recognise, Soothe, Turn towards safety.

Recognise

Notice the early signs before they become a full panic spiral. These might include tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, racing thoughts, restlessness, or a sudden need to escape.

Soothe

Use physical actions first. Slow the exhale, feel the floor, relax the jaw, splash cool water on your face, or hold something textured. Anxiety lives in the body, so the body needs reassurance.

Turn towards safety

Ask, “What would help me feel 5% safer right now?”

That might mean sitting near a door, texting someone , stepping outside for air, wrapping yourself in a blanket, or reducing noise and stimulation.

This can give you a plan. Anxiety feels chaotic and inconsistent. A plan gives the mind something steady to follow.

How Nervous System Regulation can help overcome Anxiety

Nervous System Regulation can lead to an improved response to stress and enable the body to move from a state of alert to a state or more ease. It can signal the brain and body to feel safer. Protocols like the Safe and Sound Protocol and The Rest and Restore Protocol can enable that process to happen in a passive way and can bring about more calm and connection through the protocols.

A simple plan to use today

If panic rises, keep the plan short:

1. Say, “This is panic. It will pass.”

2. Lengthen your exhale.

3. Feel your feet on the floor.

4. Name five things you can see.

5. Ask, “What would help me feel 5% safer?”

Michelle Doubtfire is a BACP Registered Psychotherapist, Trauma Therapist, Safe and Sound, and Rest and Restore Practitioner.

She works with clients suffering from Anxiety and Trauma symptoms in her clinic Safe Sound Connected.

For further support and information, please contact www.thesafetytherapist.com and www.safesoundconnected.com