Besides focusing on my breathing, what else do people do to calm themselves down?

Everyone is different in calming them selves down. Many take warm baths, go for a walk, or listen to music. Everyone will have to find what's right for them.

reading, taking a shower, meditate, gardening, work out, watch tv, petting their pet, going for a walk.

While focusing on breathing, just trying to mantra to yourself that everything will be okay. Sometimes just listening to music can help calm you down as well.

Something the enjoy. Like a hobby. Doing something you are passionate about often keeps you distracted and calm

Focusing on breath is my #1 choice, while other techniques I use to build up on the sense of calm I cultivate through breathing. From my personal experience, you may try other techniques too, but I would focus on breathing as if my emotional life depended on it. In a way, it does!

There are many other things you can do to calm yourself down; it really depends on who you are and what works for you. For some people, chewing gum may help calm them down. Going in a quiet safe place may also calm you down. Playing with something in your hand so may also really help calm you down.

Many people like to use imagery and their imagination to calm down. Picturing yourself in a calm and serene environment can help you feel at ease. I like to imagine every single detail I see about my image, focusing on something else, rather then the panic can help divert your attention and calm you down!

I have come to find that the best way for me to calm myself down is to focus each of my senses on something around me. If I am sitting in a full classroom I try to sit at the back of the room so all of the noise is in front of me and not surrounding me. If I feel myself starting to get worked up I will try to zone everything out, I focus my eyes on something in the room, I open my ears up to more sound; like the clock I listen to the steady sound. I carry around a bottle of lavender oil and smell it when I get worked up to focus in my smell sense. I carry around a light snack and eat it as needed, I then will focus on the feeling of my pants or my knuckles. I have found this to be very helpful, focusing on one thing helps drain out everything else around me.

5 senses, find something that you can smell, see, touch, taste, and hear. It worked for me once.

It varies from person to person but I have my own ways of calming myself, some of these include listen to music, read a book, focus on a certain smell or feeling, recite song lyrics or a poem in your head, go through the alphabet thinking of a positive word for each letter, think of a time you were really happy and re-play that memory, create a happy scenario in your head.