Originally Posted by notabook

I have constant panic attacks, and this is what I do to calm myself down. It doesn't always work but most of the time it does:

I control my breathing as quickly as possible as if you wait too long you may not be able to. Breathe in as slowly as you can, breathe out as slowly as you can. While doing this, focus in on your heart. As you breathe in and out slowly, this makes it easier for you to "feel" your heart. After you locate your heart, keep focus and attempt to slow your heart beat. All you really need is to slow your heart beat a couple of beats. For me, this lets me know that I'm in control of my body, not some chemical imbalance. After you have control of your heart, slowly 'lift' yourself out of the state your in.

If you have trouble breathing in and out easily during your anxiety attack, another trick which sometimes works for me is to blow on your thumb or another finger (not suck it, blow air across it). As you blow on it you'll get the same effect as breathing in and out slowly, and sometimes blowing out air is easier to do than controlling your breathing right off.