Panic Attacks: What They Are and How to Ride Them Out

A panic attack can feel like a heart attack or losing control — racing heart, tight chest, dizziness, a wave of dread. It’s terrifying, and it’s also your body’s alarm system misfiring. It is not dangerous, and it will pass.

What’s actually happening

A panic attack is a surge of the fight-or-flight response with no real threat present. The physical symptoms — pounding heart, shallow breathing, tingling — are your body preparing to run from danger that isn’t there. Understanding this takes away some of its power.

Ways to ride it out

You can’t force a panic attack to stop, but you can help your nervous system settle.

• Slow your exhale — breathe out longer than you breathe in
• Name five things you can see, four you can hear, three you can touch
• Remind yourself: “This is panic. It peaks and it passes.”
• Feel your feet on the floor and let the wave crest

When panic keeps coming back

Occasional panic is common. When attacks recur or you start avoiding places for fear of having one, therapy helps — approaches like CBT gently rewire the fear-of-fear cycle so attacks lose their grip.