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

Visualise and focus on you fear; give it a colour, shape, movement, sound... Focus on keeping it in one area or even making it smaller; I have asked why this helps my friends and the ones who do it all have different explanations ("you can beat it and push it out", "it's like knowing your fear", "I can stop it from going out of control", "I can know what it'll do next") but it seems to work. This also works for physical pain.

Personally, I write. Whether it’s in my journal or making up short stories but when I am feeling overwhelmed or sad, I am more drawn to pulling out my diary/journal and ranting away. I calm down a lot because I feel like I get all the overwhelming and consuming thoughts finally out. Even though it’s not to a person, it’s out in the open in some form. When I journal, I pop on my favorite tunes and lounge on the floor and begin to write. These writings doesn’t have to be neat and should solely be meant for you so no organization or standards should be met. To calm down I also like to color and listen to a audiobook. I begin to drift off in the audiobook away from whatever I was upset over as I color along. This is also a rewarding project because you can use different coloring books and different things to color, draw, or cut out to do in the meantime. The outcome of the picture is rewarding to your dedication of the photo. This work you put into the photo as you are lost into the audiobook, you calm down and even start to forget why you were so upset.

When I am having a panic or anxious episode, I try to find a quiet place and will play calming binaural sounds. Usually, a cold (but not ice cold) bath that has a couple drops of lavender essential oils inside. Then from there I name 5 different things for each color of the rainbow. I have an obsession with counting, so other times, I will even count to 35 ten different times. Sometimes, taking a walk or driving with the windows down help tremendously. Something about the crisp, fresh air, especially during the morning or evening really does it for me!

Practice Mindfulness, Meditation, or Self-Hypnosis. Mindfulness is to assess your immediate environment and things, objects, and people around you and how it may be impacting your anxiety. Meditation helps to harmonize the mind, spirit, and body to null any difficult emotions. Self-Hypnosis can help to relax the body, mind, and create an effective way to cope with difficult situations. Another effective tool in helping to de-escalate the situation is to write, draw or doodle; in effect, this can help to relieve tension by using a focal point for the brain to organize patterns, ideas and thought, thus disarming the triggers.

Breathing is great. Another thing I tried which is a kinda weird one but does work in an equally weird way is running cold water over your wrists... I know weird but it does kinda work. Another one is to focus on your sensations so sounds or your hand. This puts your minds focucs on something else and let's you get more present to the moment. These are all worth a try and would love to hear which helped you. What things have you found effective so far? haha you could try them all at one time.. Let me know how you go!