How to Control Breathing When Having a Panic Attack

How to Control Breathing When Having a Panic Attack

Having a panic attack is often characterized by some breathing difficulties. This is the reason why in some cases, a panic attack is mistaken as a heart attack. However, the former is not as life-threatening as the other. In fact, in the absence of any medical condition that may give rise to complications, having a panic episode is not life-threatening at all.

Now, when you or someone you know is going through a panic episode, the first thing to do is control the breathing. It is normal for panicking people to take short and rapid breaths. When they breathe like this even just for a minute, their oxygen intake is lessened. When the oxygen in the body is lessened, the heart starts to race a lot faster, making it more difficult for the person to relax and regain control of the situation. In short, the panicking person panics more.

So, upon knowing that one of the best and the very first things that can help a person having a panic attack is getting him or her breathe normally, here are the ways on how to do it:

Count breathsGuide the person to breathe on your count. Get his or her attention and then tell him of what you intend to do. Start counting aloud, first encouraging the person to breathe-in for two and then out for two (inhale= 1, 2 exhale=1, 2). Gradually increase your count to 4, then, to 6 if still necessary. Wait until the breathing has been regulated and slowed down to its normal rate. When the person having a panic attack is already back to breathing normally, ask him or her of what more you can do. If this is not the first time that he or she experienced a panic episode, he or she will know what to do next. Besides, if her episode was triggered by a specific thing or happening in the area, he or she will be able to tell and you can help him or her go away as far as possible from the trigger.

Get the person breathe into a paper bag If the person who is having an episode of panic is quite receptive, you can try offering a paper bag for breathing purposes. Again, it is important that the person is responsive. If not, do not push because the paper bag itself may trigger more fear and therefore make the already bad situation worse. Now, using the paper bag, make the receptive person alternate 10 breaths into and out of it. Then, make him or her breathe without the paper bag for 15 seconds. Remember not to overdo bag breathing because the concentration of carbon dioxide may rise more than the tolerable level and cause other problems.

Alternate the use of nose and mouth Another way to help a person having a panic attack is by getting him or her to breathe-in through the nose and then out through the mouth. Exhaling should be in a blowing fashion as if blowing a balloon up.

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