Panic Attacks are definitely no joke.
In fact, some people have a real issue getting through them when they occur.
If you’re the type of person who likes to help other people and notices when other people are experiencing this type of a problem, then you may be wondering:
“How exactly do I help someone who’s experiencing a panic attack?”
Maybe you have a friend or a loved one who suffers from these types of attacks, and you need to know exactly what to do in order to help them through it when it happens.
These are great questions.
So in this blog post, we’re going to give you our 6 best tips for how to help someone who’s experiencing a panic attack.
These are very general tips that tend to work pretty well in most situations.
Of course, every situation is a little bit different. So just make sure to take that into account whenever you make a plan and step in to provide assistance.
Table of Contents
1. Stay With Them
Sometimes, in the midst of a panic attack, it can be tempting to walk away from the person experiencing it because you may think to yourself, in your mind, that they don’t want you around while they’re going through such an event.
But this is usually not the case.
Usually, when someone’s experiencing a panic attack, having someone else nearby—especially someone they know and are comfortable with—can be a very comforting sensation while going through something so tumultuous
2. Move Them To A Quiet Place
Loud, noisy, distracting environments tend to make panic attacks worse.
Thus, it’s usually a good idea to offer to help this person find a quiet place to sit down and relax.
Sometimes, the environment really does make all the difference.
3. Ask Them What They Need
You might ask them if you can get them a drink of water, hold their hand, reassure them that everything is going to be okay, etc.
Of course, the better you know the person, the better equipped you’ll be to actually facilitate this step.
But asking them what they need is a great place to start.
4. Help Them Focus
Sometimes, when people are going through a panic attack, their thoughts are traveling in a million different directions at once.
But helping them to focus on the current situation and the reality of the fact that everything is actually fine can be extremely helpful.
Note that sometimes people are panicking because there’s a legitimate reason to panic.
In such cases, it’s always best to try to draw their focus to something that makes the present seem good rather than bad.
For example, you could say something like:
“Everything is going to be okay. You’ll figure out how to get through this.”
5. Try To Calm Them And Encourage Them
Speaking in a calming and encouraging tone is really important, and can be very helpful to people experiencing a panic attack.
Sometimes, just hearing another person’s voice speaking in gentle tones can do a lot to help the individual center themselves and feel a greater sense of calm in relation to their environment and what they’re experiencing.
6. Try Cannabis
If you know this person to be a cannabis user, then they may actually use cannabis to help them cope with panic attacks on a regular basis.
Now, you don’t just want to give someone cannabis randomly if you don’t know them and don’t know if they want to use it.
And you definitely don’t want to push this on them while they’re having a panic attack.
But you can either offer it or if you know that they regularly use it, or offer to help them and facilitate the use of the substance to help them regain a bit of their comfort in the moment.
You can even use THC products that are absorbed through the skin!
Veriheal describes it like this:
“Topical products include transdermal patches, lotions, salves, creams, balms, and ointments. Different formulations of cannabis topical products may contain different combinations of terpenes and cannabinoids naturally present in the cannabis plant.”
Conclusion
At the end of the day, helping someone with a panic attack doesn’t have to be a very complicated ordeal.
You really just have to show up and do your best to try to make the situation as good as it can be.
Even a little bit of help goes a long way.
Don’t worry, you’ve got this.
You’re probably a lot better at it than you give yourself credit for it
