@chakragirl
Some of the things that I have tried for panic attacks are:
1. Slow breathing, Deep breath in, slowly breathe out.
2. Closing my eyes and focusing on one sound.
3. Doing something repetitively that I don't have to concentrate on, ex. walking, walking in circles,
4. Listening to music, or anything that calms me down. For example, sometimes I go to the beach and listen to the waves.
5. I'm trying to start practicing mindfulness. Regular meditation doesn't work for me because I can't concentrate. I'll update you to see if it works.
For intrusive thoughts, I try to focus on something else- music, a tv show, cartoons, drawing, reading, coloring, etc. Anything that will keep me from thinking. Just satay away from the news.