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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    How can I help someone who is having a panic attack?

    Related Topic
    Panic Attacks
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  • Anthony Berrick

    Psychologist

    Good question. If someone you know is having a panic attack, it can be quite upsetting if you don't know how to help them, and you don't want to make things even worse by doing the wrong thing.

    The first thing to remember is that the panic attack will soon pass and won't do any lasting damage. As horrible as it might be for the sufferer, they WILL be fine.

    Keeping that in mind, all you really need to do to help the person get through it, is to stay calm and wait it out. If you seem relaxed and confident that everything will be okay, it can really help the person having the panic attack to calm down too. But you can't rush the panic attack - you don't get to decide how long it will last and there are no magic tricks to make it go away.

    Sit down with the person having a panic attack. Try not to talk too much. Don't criticise them, problem-solve or tell them that there's nothing to worry about. Bring your energy level down, speak softly (if at all) and be patient. Just stay with them until they feel better - not just a little bit better, but a lot better.

    If you can get the person to stay in the same place (i.e. not leave the situation that triggered the panic attack) until the panic attack passes, then that makes it less likely that they will develop a fear of the place where they had the panic attack. 

    When the panic attack is finished and they're feeling fine, tell them how brave they have been for riding it out. If someone has had a panic attack once, chances are they'll be quite scared about having another one in the future. So, saying something like “Wow, you did really well then. You're a lot braver than I am” can help the person feel less embarassed or ashamed about it, and could actually reduce the likelihood of them having panic attacks in the future.

    Just remember to be calm, compassionate and patient and it'll be over before you know it!

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  • Damien Haines

    Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist

    Damien Haines is a registered Clinical Psychologist who brings a warm and empathetic approach to therapy. He emphasises engagement in the world and encourages clients … View Profile

    I couldn't agree more with Anthony. Excellent advice

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  • Dr Toni Metelerkamp

    Clinical Psychologist, Psychologist

    As a humanist, I believe everyone wants and deserves happiness, but life sometimes takes us on unexpected paths, making it challenging to be in the … View Profile

    I agree this is a good question, and Anthony has provide great advise.

    Panic attacks are excruciating difficult experiences, made worse by thinking that others are noticing and judging. If others do notice (often they don’t), and are willing to do something proactive, that helps to alleviate some of the anxiety. It can happen that noticing the anxiety actually makes the person more anxious to begin with, but approaching the situation calmly, and non judgmentally will ultimately de-escalate the situation. Panic attacks are so intense that people might think they are having a heart attack or dying. These thoughts further fuel the panic, increase heart rate and lead to shallow and more rapid breathing, which in turn also fuels panic.
     
    Wherever possible, do not tell the person to stop panicking or that there is nothing to panic about. Instead reassure them by letting them know that focusing on breathing can shift some of the discomfort.  The single best thing you can do is to help the person regulate their breathing.  The more panicked someone is the less able they are to regulate their own breathing, and the more helpful others can be in providing an anchor.
     
    Panic is accompanied by rapid, shallow breathing so the aim is to encourage slower, deeper breaths. There are several ways to do this and many of the options involve counting in some or other way. When panicked though, counting can sometimes increase anxiety and fuel the panic, so it is often best not to focus on counting per se. Another option is to encourage breathing through 4 stages and cycling repetitively through the same 4 stages. The option that seems to work for many is to breathe:

    • In - through your mouth
    • Wait
    • Out  - through your mouth
    • Wait
    The aim is to complete the cycle roughly 8-10 times per minute, but the actual number of breaths per minute is not mportant, especially at the start of the exercise. Once someone is comfortable with the 4 stages, which is usually after a minute or so, you can increase the time taken to complete each stage by a second or two. Doing this gradually slows the breaths per minute. Ignoring the counting aspect, this approach usually slows the rate of breathing because it focuses attention on the breath, rather than the panic, and encourages deep breathing because of the ‘wait” between the in and out breaths.
     
    At first, you might feel a little stressed about helping someone who is panicking, but doing the breathing exercise with the other person will usually also help regulate your breathing and hopefully you feel a little better for having done it too.
     
    Best of luck.
     

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