Found a weird trick for panic attacks that worked after 15 years of trying everything

I get these random panic attacks that hit out of nowhere, usually when I'm driving or in a store. Therapists told me to breathe deep, count things, name objects. None of it did squat. Last week at a Target in Tulsa, I felt one coming on and out of desperation I started counting the letters on every sign I could see. Not reading the signs, just counting the characters like a robot. T, A, R, G, E, T is 6. C, L, E, A, N, E, R is 7. I did that for about 90 seconds and the whole thing just faded out. Now I'm wondering if the trick is keeping your brain too busy to spiral. Has anyone else found some random mental game that actually shuts down the panic? I want to know if this works for other people or if I just got lucky.

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_west211mo agoMost Upvoted

My aunt swears by counting ceiling tiles in any room she walks into, says it forced her brain to focus on something pointless instead of feeding the panic. Maybe the key is finding something boring enough that your brain gives up on the spiral.

jason_lewis31mo ago

Yeah, @fiona_west21, I get the logic but isn't counting ceiling tiles kind of a gamble? In my experience, if the pattern is too simple or repeats fast, your brain might just finish and jump right back into panic mode. You'd probably need something with a little more randomness, like counting how many times someone blinks in a minute, just to make sure your brain stays bored long enough.

blair_taylor321mo ago

@jason_lewis3 absolutely right. I do it with license plates, keeps the brain busy just long enough.