How to calm a panic attack
You don't have to make it stop. You only have to let it pass. Stay where you are, let your breath out a little slower than you breathe in, and tell yourself what's happening: this is panic, and it passes. It rises like a wave, peaks, and goes back to the sea. Most panic attacks are over within 5 to 20 minutes.
The Settle · Updated 8 October 2026
Press play: riding the wave
Four minutes to lean on while it passes. A calm voice, the sound of the sea, and slow breaths as the wave rises, peaks and comes down.
- It rises
- Name it: this is panic, and it passes
- Let it come, and notice where
- It builds, like a wave out at sea
- It peaks
- The breath out, longer than the breath in
- The highest part, the part that turns
- It passes
- Coming down, a little at a time
- Back to the sea
- Something solid, holding you
Read the words
This is The Settle. A few minutes, for when panic rises. You don't have to make it stop. You only have to let it pass. And if anything here doesn't feel right, just listen to the sea.
First, give it a name. You can say it quietly, or just think it. This is panic. It's a wave, and waves pass.
You don't have to fight it. Fighting a wave only makes you tired. So let it come. Notice where you feel it. Maybe your chest. Maybe your hands. That's all right. It's your body trying to keep you safe, a little too hard.
Panic rises like a wave rises, out at sea. It builds, and it lifts, and it comes towards the shore.
Let your breath out slowly now. Longer than the breath in. Like the sea going back over the sand.
Breathe in, gently.
And out, slowly, all the way.
Breathe in again.
And a long breath out.
The wave is at its highest now, or nearly. This is the part that feels the biggest. And this is the part that always turns.
Breathe in, softly.
And out, slowly.
Feel it start to come down. Not all at once. Just a little, and then a little more. Like a wave spreading itself thin across the sand.
In, once more.
And all the way out.
Each wave that reaches the shore goes back to the sea. This one is going back now.
Notice something solid. The bed under you, or the floor under your feet. It's holding you. It was holding you the whole time.
You rode it. The wave came, and it's passing, and you're still here. Stay with the sound of the sea for as long as you like.
What the NHS says to do
During a panic attack, the NHS suggests you:
- "stay where you are, if possible"
- "breathe slowly and deeply"
- "remind yourself that the attack will pass"
- "focus on positive, peaceful and relaxing images"
- "remember it's not life threatening"
One gentle minute at a time
- Name it. Quietly, or in your head: "This is panic. It's a wave, and waves pass."
- Let it come. Notice where you feel it, your chest, your hands, without pushing it away. Fighting it feeds it.
- Lengthen the out-breath. In gently, out slowly. Or try the physiological sigh: two short breaths in through the nose, one long sigh out through the mouth.
- Find something solid. Feet flat on the floor, your back against a wall, the bed holding your weight.
- Give your hands a job. Trace your fingers with starfish breathing, or hold something cool.
- Come back through your senses. A few things you can see, hear and feel. The grounding techniques page has more.
Why riding the wave works
Panic is your body's alarm going off when there's nothing to run from. Every time you fight it, the alarm hears "danger" again. When you let it rise and fall without arguing, it has nothing to push against, and it settles on its own. A panic attack can't keep climbing forever.
The long breath out has research behind it too: in a 2023 Stanford study, five minutes a day of cyclic sighing, with the breath out longer than the breath in, improved mood more than mindfulness meditation did.
Questions
How do you calm a panic attack fast?
Stay where you are if you can, slow your breathing so the out-breath is longer than the in-breath, and remind yourself it will pass. Naming it ('this is panic') and feeling something solid under you can help. The NHS says most panic attacks last between 5 and 20 minutes.
What does the NHS say to do during a panic attack?
The NHS says to stay where you are if possible, breathe slowly and deeply, remind yourself that the attack will pass, focus on positive, peaceful and relaxing images, and remember it's not life threatening.
What is the physiological sigh?
Two breaths in through the nose, the second a short top-up, then one long, slow breath out through the mouth. In a 2023 Stanford study, five minutes a day of this 'cyclic sighing' improved mood and lowered breathing rate more than the same time spent on mindfulness meditation.
Why does fighting a panic attack make it worse?
Fighting it tells your body there's danger, which feeds the alarm. Letting the feeling rise, peak and fall, without trying to push it away, often lets it pass sooner. That's what 'riding the wave' means.