As someone who has suffered from anxiety for a large part of my teenage years, I have learned some useful tips that help whenever I get panic attacks. The first—and most widely known—tip is called grounding. With grounding, you name five things you see, four things you touch, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. By doing so, you are distracting your senses and allowing your brain to concentrate on something else. Another common method to distract your brain is to count backwards from 100 by three’s. I like to say the numbers out loud so that I stay concentrated on the numbers instead of thinking about what I am anxious about. This is usually the first method I try whenever I feel a panic attack coming on.
When I feel a panic attack starting, I like to go outside with my shoes off. Feeling the grass beneath my feet and breathing in the fresh air helps me calm down. When going outside, I also like to listen to relaxing, slow music. Walking around outside for about 10-15 minutes also helps a lot. However, the most useful tip I’ve learned to calm myself down is sensory rings. Sensory rings are small, stretchy metal rings with little spikes on them. Whenever I feel myself start to get anxious, I stretch and play with the ring and move it up and down my fingers. They are fairly cheap and available at a lot of common stores, such as Amazon and Target. I keep a couple in my backpack and a few scattered throughout my house. This way, whenever I feel a panic attack coming, I can just take one of my rings and play with it until I feel better.
Panic attacks and anxiety are things that many people face, and no one should be ashamed or embarrassed about them. These are just a few techniques that have worked for me, but everyone has different things that work for them. However, it is always important to also ask for help and talk to your family and friends if you feel anxiety and panic.