What's the best way to calm your racing heart when having a panic attack?

The best way to calm down your racing heart when having a panic attack is bringing yourself back in the room, back into your own body. Notice the ceiling or the texture of the floor. What color is your shirt? Breathe slowly and continue to notice your surroundings until you can soundly think about why you reacted the way you did.

The only way for me to calm down during a panic attack is to call my friend and have her help me breathe and once I start breathing normally I'm generally able to calm myself down. The worst panic I've ever had I had to force myself to sleep because I wasn't going to be able to calm myself down.

Breath in a paper bag helps - or just try and match your breathing pace to someone else's -which leads to a decrease in heart rate

I find that breathing deeply often really helps me out, I think I usually use a pattern of in for 6, hold for about 8 and then out again for about 10. If you try to picture a balloon inflating with every breath outwards, I've heard that can help you regain control too x

Take deep breaths in through your nose and put through your mouth. Try to focus on just your breath, and the rise and fall of your chest

Find something that you love to do that doesn't harm yourself or others. I play guitar when I panic.

I try to concentrate on my breathing pattern and I fist my hand along with it. When I breathe in, I fist my hand. When I breathe out, I unfist my hand. I keep doing this until I feel better.

Try to think of things in the past that have helped to calm yourself down. It may be listening to music, playing sport, going for a walk, or calling a friend. It is useful to keep a diary of all the times you have had attacks in the past and what methods best help you to calm down. Stay off caffeine, sugar, salt and alcohol as all of these are known to exacerbate anxiety. If it becomes a chronic condition then go and see a specialist. Check your blood pressure as high blood pressure usually needs immediate treatment.

Take a deep breath and meditate. Panic attacks are just a moment in time. Reassure yourself that everything will be okay and your heart may very well calm its nerves.

to do breathing steps such as counting to 10 and taking deep breaths to calm down (in through your nose, out through your mouth)

Using breathing exercises like breathe in through your nose and out your mouth and just close your eyes and listen to you breathing. It should slow it down.

[| Holding breath - slows heart rate [| Breathing exercises - distracts you and levels breathing and heart rate  [| Counting - counting in a steady pace distracts you and allows you to concentrate on a single thing while also maintaining breathing

Think about one thing. Don't let you mind wander. Focus is very important. If your environment is chaotic try to get out of it. Go to an empty room if need be. If your alone. I would say to contact someone immediately. Or try to focus on one object or job to keep your mind from wandering.

When having a panic attack it is best to concentrate on your breathing. In order to calm your racing heart you need to slow down your breathing. It helps to slowly count to two while breathing in and counting to four while breathing out. That way you are aware of your breathing and are able to calm your racing heart because you have slowed down your breathing. Concentrating on you this exercise also helps your mind to get away from the "panic thoughts" and allows you to focus on something other than the panic attack. This technique has helped me a lot in the past and it is something you can do anywhere without anyone even noticing.

Breathing is the most important thing in the world. When we are experiencing a panic attack we tend to lose control of our breath and breathing then feels completely impossible and you can feel as though you are going to die. The simple inhalation and exhalation feeling then begins to feel completely overwhelming as you can feel as though you are drowning and fighting the current to bring you head above the water and the crashing waves. I would suggest breathing and grounding exercises to find stillness and then can engage in other soothing tactics like meditating, yoga, engaging in arts and crafts or just simple things like going for a walk and clearing your head and having someone else to speak with rather than your own mind/head.

The best way to calm your heart down during a panic attack, in my experiences, is to begin to count backwards from a number of your choice. I usually start with the number 100, then work my way down as I breathe deeply through my panic. When I'm focused on my breathing, and the familiarity of counting the numbers backwards in a sequence, then I am not, in that moment, focused on whatever it was that was making my heart race. If you find yourself unable to speak, just say the numbers in your head as you inhale on the even numbers, and exhale on the odds. Also remember now to count so fast, because if you're counting fast, you are likely breathing too fast.

I have always found that diaphragmatic breathing helps when having a panic attack. Work and focus on controlling your breathing.

I try to think of song and sync my breathing to the tempo. I usually start with a slow ballad and work my way up to a pop song to regulate my breathing.

Have a cold glass of water and to take deep breaths also counting to 10 or 20 helps the heart to slow down

One thing that I do when I'm having a panic attack is I will ground myself. So, I will look around me and I will list something I can smell, touch, see, hear and taste. This helps bring me back to reality and helps me realise i am safe.