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How To Help Someone Having A Panic Attack

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Ratings: 69 | Views: 21096 | Added: Jul 28, 2006

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How To Help Someone Having A Panic Attack

Help Someone Having a Panic Attack. We show the best measures to take to relieve someone suffering a panic attack. Come to the support of friends, family, and other members of the community.

You Will Need

1 paper bag

Step 1:

Find out the cause of the attack

Establish if there is a cause for the fear and either try to remove it or consider taking the person away from the source of distress to a quiet area.

Step 2:

Speak to them in a reassuring but firm manner

Try and get them to remain still and to calm down.

Step 3:

Advise them to try and control breathing

Regaining control of their breathing will help eliminate the symptoms and will help calm them down.

Step 4:

Try counting breaths

One way of helping them to do this is to ask the person to breathe in and out on your count. Begin by counting aloud, encouraging the person to breath in for 2 and then out for 2, gradually increase the count to 4 and then 6 if possible until their breathing has slowed down and regulated.

Step 5:

Get them to breath into a paper bag

This should be done by alternating around 10 breaths into and out of the bag, followed by breathing without a bag for 15 seconds.

Step 6:

Don’t leave them alone

Step 7:

Seek medical help

If the symptoms do not subside within 15 minutes seek urgent medical advice.

Also known as:

How Do I Help Someone Having A Panic Attack
How To Stop A Panic Attack

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1 out of 1 person found this comment helpful

Anonymous (94 days ago)

i am having around 12 panic attacks a day its awful im so tired

Anonymous (109 days ago)

i suffer from panic attacks and i carnt even go out the house i have a son who is 2 i kneed some help with my panic dissorder but i carnt go to the doctors and the doc wont come out to a home visit is there anything i can do to get it sorted b4 the time comes when my son goes to school ?

1 out of 2 people found this comment helpful

Anonymous (139 days ago)

Woman with the panicking husband: Maybe try taking him to a psychiatrist or psychologist...

Anonymous (169 days ago)

whats the difference between a panic attack and a anxiety attack

Anonymous (169 days ago)

my husband seems to be getting some sort of anxiety attack after getting a low blood sugar (he has to eat almost once every 2hrs or his sugar goes low causing him to feel sick,and off balanced)then on top of having a low sugar he thinks he is possibly dying to the point that its causing him to go into flight mode shaking and flushed and sick to his stomach like a adenalin rush ..not in this order all the time but the symptoms are the same please help please note that his mom had her thyroid taken out and our med doctor only gave him xanax saying he is having panic attacks .....i dont know please help he was not always like this and its stopping his daily living as the pills are not helping the situation

Anonymous (180 days ago)

I usually get someone to punch me hard in the stomach and then i completely lose my breath. By the time i get it back again my panic attack is gone and all I want to do is chill out with a DVD.

0 out of 1 person found this comment helpful

Anonymous (269 days ago)

oily feet

Anonymous (280 days ago)

This will not help me,however,due to the fact that my panic attacks cause pain in my stomach and back. I hyperventilate until I stop breathing. There is really nothing someone can do. The methods do not work on me,but it has on someone I know.

Anonymous (297 days ago)

does not really explain the difference of panic attacks for individuals. Personally i get chest pains with mine and my Blood Pressure from my GP is perfect at 86 BPM. Some of the advice is not helpfull, best advice is not to tell someone how to breathe but to just simply BE WITH the person having the attack. Statistically 7 out of 20 people have a panic attack using public transport. Establishing the cause of the panic attack is not that easy either if it is from the sub-conscious.

Anonymous (312 days ago)

I'm hyperventalating now!!!!

flcowgirl29 (333 days ago)

I suffer from panic attacks, and the best treatment I got was when my therapist had me close my eyes, picture a relaxing scene(beach,etc) and take deep breathes. This worked much better than any paper bag.

Anonymous (339 days ago)

if i'm having a panic attack i find it annoying when someone tells you how to breathe.. if i could breathe normally, i would be, wouldn't i? good that there is this video though, a lot of people panic more than you do when having an attack!

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful

Anonymous (366 days ago)

This does a good job. But when instructing breathing, make sure they breath into their lower diaphragm (stomach area) and exhale all the air from the area, which is the cause of the light headed disorientated feelings. Do this with the counting method and you will do great.