since a lot of people are liking this and telling me their stories with panic attacks, here’s a thread on what you can do when experiencing one or when you see someone experiencing one https://twitter.com/unoriginaldad/status/1264226166140960770

firstly i’d like to mention that i’ve been dealing with panic attacks for the past 6 years and this base on my personal experience.
i am NOT a professional. those are tips. please DO consult a professional. i just hope this thread can help some people

1. your position

the first thing you need to do is sit down or lay down.
panic attacks often comes with hyperventilation and that could make you very dizzy and/or make your limbs go numb. you don’t want to fall and hit your head.

2. your surroundings

if you can, move all objects near you. your body can spasm and shake violently so you don’t want to hit yourself on anything.
also if you’re laying down, put something soft under your head like jacket, a backpack, a pillow, or someone’s legs

3. your body

if you feel your muscles contracting and flexing, there’s high chances that you will try to bite yourself or scratch yourself, it’s better to hold onto something soft, a jacket, someone’s arm (they will forgive you don’t worry)
it doesn’t matter how hard you +

those things, if it can prevent you from hurting yourself in this situation, it’s better.

there’s situations when the person who’s having a panic attack will throw up, so if you’re laying down, turn your head to the side if laying down. (its better when someone else does it, +

it’s really hard to do on your own) it can prevent your from choking.

4. hyperventilation

as i said, panic attacks often comes with hyperventilation, which basically gives your body too much oxygen. what you need to do is put a plastic/paper bag, or anything that can contain air, around your mouth and nose and breath into that until it +

calm down.
be careful tho! don’t put it around your entire head! you need to be able to take it out from time to time to catch a normal breath and you also dont want to choke

concentrate on your breathing : inhale for 6 seconds, hold it for 5 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds +

try to feel you chest rising and dropping as you breath, you can also put you hand on it to help you feel it more.

5. look around

you can be very disoriented, one thing you can do it look at your surrounding and try to spot several items and concentrate on them, then you can try hear the sounds around you, not all at once, concentrate on one thing at a time.

6. for the people helping

try to put as much as possible around the person experiencing a panic attack, if there’s other people around you, tell them to leave. you can keep someone the person trust and love, that can help them.

DONT PANIC. the last thing you need to do is +

panic, it will worsen the person’s case and you will have a harder time trying to calm them down. we might feel like we’re dying but we’re not! so try to remain as calm as possible and speak slowly and not too loudly.

we hear you. but we can’t always respond +

you can talk to us and try to guide us (calmly), it’s okay if we don’t talk at first, or don’t open our eyes, once we’ve calmed down we will eventually start to speak again.

water does not help unless we’ve calm down, drinking will only give us another chance of choking +

do not call an ambulance unless very necessary, hearing that someone is calling an ambulance is coming can be very scary for them.
they are people who often suffer from anxiety and overthink, the last thing we won’t is to inconvenience someone.

7. once you’ve calmed down

panic attacks can be VERY tiring, if you can, take a nap, go to sleep or at least go slowly and dont overwork yourself.
if you’re a teacher, a parent or a boss, understand that this is a traumatizing experience and that we need some time to +

calm down and regain our energy. we did not want this to happen, we are sorry and we feel very bad. this is not our fault.

8. therapy and medication

to prevent from having more panic attacks, if you can afford it, please seek professional help. they’re the one who can actually help you. they can help find things that will help during panic attacks, they can help you get in a better mental +

place, which makes panic attacks less frequent.

one thing to note: the first therapist might not be the right one for you. i’d recommend going to several therapist until you find someone you’re comfortable with and someone that will actually help you.

+

as for medication, you can try herbal medicine if that helps you or you can see a specialist that will give you the right medication for you. be careful with it tho, ALWAYS listen to your doctor. they know better.

9. how to be prepared

to be better prepared, you can always carry around a plastic bag (for hyperventilation), a bottle of water, your medication (if you have it, only bring what the doctor told you to take, not the entire box).

tell someone about it. it can be a friend, +

a teacher, a family member, a colleague, your care taker, someone you trust. if you tell them there’s less chances of them panicking and they can be better prepared in case it eventually happens again.

10.

we all experience different symptoms, so try to find thing that helps you and fits your symptoms. please feel free to share your own tips, ill add them to this thread.

i know this is really terrifying and traumatizing. you’re not weird, you’re not +

an inconvenience, your feelings are very valid and important, yes this is something you should take seriously.

remember to thank the people that help you go through this. it’s also very scary for them and they’re amazing for helping us through this.

thank you for anyone that’s read till the end. i hope this can help you and others.
thank you if you’ve ever helped someone who was having a panic attack, you’re amazing.

sorry if this thread is messy and if there’s too many typos :/ tell me if i said something wrong!