Guide · anxiety · 3 min read
Breathing exercises that help during panic — what to expect, when you are at home and cannot settle
Deep breathing is the wrong advice during panic. What helps is a longer exhale and something concrete to count.
Start here
Most of the usual advice misses the point. What follows is the version that survives contact with a real week.
Being at home and unable to settle is a very specific problem.
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
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.
Count out loud if you can. Speaking forces a slower, more normal breathing pattern than thinking does.
Do not wait until the peak to practise. Doing four rounds on a normal afternoon is what makes it available at the peak.
What to do when it does not work
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.
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 Why your weekend does not feel like rest — a short read, if you have five quiet minutes, Working in a noisy place without losing your mind — what actually helps, if you are fitting this around other people or How to get through the first hour without your phone — what actually helps, before something difficult.