Your heart is hammering against your ribs. The air feels thick, your vision narrows, and a terrifying thought screams through your mind: “I’m losing control.”
If this feels familiar, you know the overwhelming, isolating fear of an anxiety or panic attack. It can feel like your body and mind have been hijacked. But I want you to hear this: You are not broken, and you are not alone. More importantly, you have the power to reclaim your calm.
These aren’t just hopeful words. These are five practical, science-backed techniques you can use the moment you feel an attack beginning. They are designed to work quickly—in under three minutes—to ground you, soothe your nervous system, and remind your brain that you are safe.
Let’s walk through them together.
A Quick but Important Note on Safety
The tools here are for managing overwhelming moments. They are not a substitute for therapy or emergency care. If you are in crisis, thinking of harming yourself, or feel you are in danger, please contact your local emergency services immediately or go to the nearest hospital. Your life is important.
Way 1: Anchor Your Breath, Anchor Your Mind
When panic strikes, your breathing becomes short and shallow, telling your brain there’s danger. By intentionally slowing your breath, you send a powerful signal back to your brain that the threat has passed. This activates your body’s “rest and digest” system, the opposite of the “fight or flight” response.
How to do it: The Box Breathing Method
- Breathe in slowly through your nose for a count of 4.
- Hold your breath for a count of 4.
- Breathe out slowly through your mouth for a count of 4.
- Hold at the bottom for a count of 4.
- Repeat this cycle 4-5 times.
Don’t just read it, practice it. Our guided tool walks you through this exercise with a visual guide to make it even easier in a stressful moment.
➡️ Open the Breathing Anchor Tool
Way 2: Use Temperature to Hit the Brakes (The TIPP Skill)
This powerful technique comes from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Extreme cold on your face triggers something called the “dive reflex.” It immediately slows your heart rate and redirects blood flow to your brain, acting like a physiological brake pedal on panic.
How to do it
- Grab a bowl of cold water (add ice if you can).
- Hold your breath and bend over.
- Dip your face into the water for 15-30 seconds.
- If you can’t do that, hold an ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables on your cheeks and forehead.
The TIPP skill has a few key steps. Our interactive kit guides you through Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing, and Paired Muscle Relaxation for comprehensive crisis management.
➡️ Explore the TIPP Crisis Kit
Way 3: Ground Yourself in Reality with the 5-4-3-2-1 Method
During an anxiety attack, your mind is lost in a catastrophic future. Grounding pulls your attention out of your anxious thoughts and plants it firmly in the present moment using your five senses. It reminds your brain that right here, right now, you are okay.
How to do it
Wherever you are, pause and gently notice:
- 5 things you can SEE. (A crack in the wall, the color of your shirt, a light switch.)
- 4 things you can FEEL. (The texture of your pants, the cool air on your skin, your feet on the floor.)
- 3 things you can HEAR. (The hum of a fan, distant traffic, your own breathing.)
- 2 things you can SMELL. (Your coffee, soap on your hands, the rain outside.)
- 1 thing you can TASTE. (The mint from your gum, a sip of water, or just the taste in your mouth.)
Our interactive 5-4-3-2-1 tool guides you through each sense, helping you focus when it’s hard to do it on your own.
➡️ Try the Sensory Grounding Tool
Way 4: Let Thoughts Float By Like a River
Fighting anxious thoughts often makes them stronger. The goal isn’t to stop them, but to stop getting hooked by them. Imagine you are sitting on the bank of a river. Your thoughts are just leaves floating by. You notice them, but you don’t have to jump in the water and grab them. This creates distance and reduces their power.
How to do it
- Close your eyes for a moment if you can.
- Picture a gently flowing stream or river.
- As a thought comes into your mind (“What if I faint?”), place it on a leaf and watch it float away down the river.
- Don’t judge the thought. Just notice it, place it on a leaf, and let it go. Another one will come. Do the same with it.
This mindfulness skill takes practice. Our Thought River exercise provides a visual and guided experience to help you master this technique.
➡️ Open the Thought River Exercise
Way 5: Shift Your Focus with Healthy Distraction
Sometimes, the best immediate action is to simply get your mind onto a different track. This isn’t about avoiding your problems forever; it’s a short-term strategy to break the panic cycle when it’s too intense to think clearly.
How to do it
Engage your brain in a simple, concrete task.
- Count backward from 100 by 7s.
- Describe your immediate environment in extreme detail, as if to a police sketch artist.
- Try to name a fruit or vegetable for every letter of the alphabet.
Can’t think of an idea in the moment? That’s okay. We built a tool for that. The Distraction Generator instantly gives you simple, healthy ideas to shift your attention.
➡️ Use the Distraction Generator
What To Do After the Storm Passes
Once the immediate intensity has faded, you might feel exhausted or shaky. That’s completely normal. Be gentle with yourself.
When you feel ready, it can be helpful to understand your anxiety better. Our free, confidential GAD-7 Anxiety Test is a quick, 7-question tool used by clinicians to check in on anxiety symptoms over the last two weeks. It can be a helpful first step in noticing patterns.
You Have What It Takes
Anxiety attacks are terrifying, but they are not a life sentence. They are a signal from a nervous system that’s on high alert. By learning these skills, you are learning the language your nervous system understands.
You have the power to move through these moments. Practice these tools when you are calm, so they become second nature when you need them most. You can do this.
FAQ
Do these tools replace therapy?
No. They are for education and self-help. If your symptoms are severe or persistent, please connect with a licensed professional. Therapy can help you understand the root causes of anxiety and develop long-term strategies.
What if I feel worse while using a tool?
Pause the activity immediately. Sometimes, focusing on the body can increase anxiety at first. If this happens, try a simple distraction technique instead. If distress is high, it is important to use local emergency services or contact a professional.
Important Information
Safety Note
These tools and tests are for learning and skill practice. They are not therapy or a diagnosis. If you are in crisis, please use local emergency services.
Trust Note
Many of these tools come from evidence-based practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). You can learn more from trusted sources like the NIMH and the APA.