Guide · anxiety · 3 min read
Breathing exercises that help during panic — what to expect, when you have just finished work
Deep breathing is the wrong advice during panic. What helps is a longer exhale and something concrete to count.
Start here
A short explanation first, because knowing why makes the doing easier.
The gap right after work is the easiest one to use.
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".
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.
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.
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.
Do not wait until the peak to practise. Doing four rounds on a normal afternoon is what makes it available at the peak.
Questions people ask
Does this replace treatment?
No. Breathing exercises are a coping tool. Panic disorder responds well to CBT and, in some cases, medication. Talk to a professional.
Written for people who want the practical version. No accounts, no tracking, no newsletter wall.
If this is not the angle you need, try When grief arrives out of nowhere — a plain-language guide, after a difficult conversation, The five minutes after a difficult meeting, for people who have tried everything, when you have been meaning to start or Using the commute as a boundary between work and home, step by step, if you are fitting this around other people.