Anxiety Attack Right Now? Start Here.

1. Know what this is
It feels like you’re dying, losing control, or the world is falling on you. You’re not. It’s your body’s alarm system firing when there’s no fire. It peaks, and it passes. Every time.

2. 🌀 Breathe out longer than you breathe in
4 seconds in. 6 seconds out. Again.
It won’t feel like it’s working. Do it anyway. The long breath out is your body’s brake pedal.

3. 🖐️ 5-4-3-2-1 (Don’t skip this one – it’s the most important.)
Look around and name:

• 5 things you can see (anything – chair, people, floor)
• 4 things you can touch (your skin, clothes)
• 3 things you can hear (cars, birds)
• 2 things you can smell (nothing around? lick your wrist and smell it)
• 1 thing you can taste

It drags your brain out of the panic and back into the room. IT WORKS!

4. 🌊 Don’t fight it – ride it
Fighting the panic feeds it. Say to yourself: “Okay. This is happening. It will pass.”
That’s not giving up. That’s letting the wave go over you instead of swimming against it.

⚠️ Important
First time this has happened? Chest pain? Not sure it’s anxiety? Get checked or call 911. Panic can feel exactly like a heart problem. I’ve ended up in the emergency room from one myself. Getting checked isn’t dramatic – it’s smart.

Empty the pressure cooker 🫖
Thoughts piling up? Talk to someone you trust. Alone? Write it down. Bottled-up stress doesn’t disappear – it comes out later as mood swings, burnout, and more attacks.

Move every day 🏃
Walk, lift, dance. Movement burns off the stress your body is holding onto.

Baby steps 🐾
One small win a day. Cook a meal. Smile at a stranger. Learn one new thing. Small wins rebuild the confidence anxiety takes away.

Fix the basics 🛌🥗
Bad sleep and bad food make anxiety louder. Start with the 4 Pillars of Essentials. If your mind keeps spiralling, read Overthinking: How to Stop Assuming the Worst.

If attacks keep coming back, or you start avoiding places and people because you’re scared of the next one – talk to a doctor or therapist. Anxiety is very treatable. Therapy works, and sometimes medication helps too. Asking for help isn’t weakness. It’s the fastest way out.

🕸️ Even Spider-Man learns it in Brand New Day – you don’t have to carry it alone, so open up to the people close to you, because asking for help is the strongest move you’ve got.

👉 Try it today
Run 5-4-3-2-1 once today while you’re calm. Takes 60 seconds. Practise it now so your brain already knows the drill when panic hits.