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8 Grounded Ways to Help Someone Through a Panic Attack (That Most People Get Wrong)
They’re drowning, and your instincts are probably wrong. Here’s what really helps, and what makes it worse.
Panic attacks are not overreactions. They’re not drama. They are real, physiological storms; hell from the inside.
If you’ve never had one, think of it like this: imagine your body is certain it’s dying, even though you’re perfectly safe. It’s like drowning, but with air. A flood of terror that comes from nowhere. And you can’t stop it, no matter how badly you want to.
So what do you do when someone you love is going through this? Or you happen to sit across from someone in a bar.
Most people fumble. They reach for the standard toolkit: “Just relax,” or “Try to calm down,” or the classic, “You’re okay, it’s all in your head.”
You mean well. Of course you do. But if you’ve ever said that or think that’s the first thing to say, you’ve probably seen what happens next: their panic doubles.
Not because they’re trying to be difficult but because they can’t hear you. And more than that, they can’t reach themselves.
