Guide · anxiety · 3 min read
Breathing exercises that help during panic — a realistic guide, when you are somewhere unfamiliar
Deep breathing is the wrong advice during panic. What helps is a longer exhale and something concrete to count.
Start here
The order matters less than doing the first one tonight. Start there and come back to the rest.
It travels well. Hotels, spare rooms, other people’s sofas.
If you only do one thing from this page, do the first point below. It is first because it removes the most friction for the least effort.
What helps
Make the out-breath longer than the in-breath. Four in, six or eight out is enough. The exhale is the part that shifts things.
Put one hand on your ribs and one on your belly so you can feel which one is moving. This gives your attention a job that is not "am I dying".
Cool your face. Cold water on the wrists and the back of the neck is a physical signal that has nothing to do with thinking your way out.
What to do when it does not work
Count out loud if you can. Speaking forces a slower, more normal breathing pattern than thinking does.
Do not try to take a big breath in. During panic you are often already over-breathing, and a deep inhale can make the dizziness worse.
A physiological sigh — one inhale, a second short sip of air on top, then a long release through the mouth — often works in one or two rounds.
Questions people ask
What if I feel more dizzy?
Stop and breathe normally. Dizziness during breathing exercises usually means you are breathing too hard or holding too long.
Written for people who want the practical version. No accounts, no tracking, no newsletter wall.
If this is not the angle you need, try Ten minutes outside is not a wellness cliché — what nobody tells you, when you have just finished work, Releasing tension you did not notice you were holding — what to expect, when you have already had a long week or Preparing for a conversation you are dreading — an honest guide, if you are sceptical about all of this.