8 Surprising Ways to Ground Yourself During a Panic Attack
When a panic attack hits, it feels like your body has been hijacked. Your heart races, your chest tightens, and your thoughts spiral: What if something’s wrong with me? What if this never stops?
If you’ve ever been there, you know how overwhelming it can feel. As a therapist, I remind people that panic attacks, while terrifying, are not dangerous. They’re your body’s alarm system going off at the wrong time.
Struggling With Panic Attacks?
You don’t have to face panic alone. Therapy can help you understand your triggers, learn grounding tools, and feel more in control.
Schedule a ConsultationHow Grounding Skills Work
Grounding techniques are designed to interrupt panic by shifting your body’s chemistry and your brain’s focus. When you activate your senses, smell, touch, sight, or movement, you pull attention away from racing thoughts and give your nervous system something concrete to hold onto. Many of these strategies come straight from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which emphasizes practical tools for calming overwhelming emotions. DBT skills target the body directly changing your breathing, heart rate, and sensory input so your mind has a chance to catch up and recover. Grounding skills interrupt that spiral by changing your body’s chemistry and redirecting your brain’s focus. Instead of staying caught in racing thoughts, you engage your senses, smell, touch, sight, sound, movement, so your nervous system has something solid to anchor to.
1. Hand Sanitizer: Smell Your Way Back to the Present
Put a small dab of hand sanitizer on your hands and breathe in the scent. The strong smell of alcohol can jolt your senses back into the present moment, cutting through racing thoughts and helping your brain anchor to something concrete.
2. Lemons: A Sharp Scent to Interrupt Panic
Peel a lemon or squeeze one into your hands and breathe in the sharp, citrusy smell. Scents are powerful regulators, they send signals straight to the brain’s emotional center. Citrus in particular has an energizing, grounding effect that can disrupt spiraling anxiety.
3. Hold Ice in Your Hands
Grab an ice cube and let it sit in your palm until it starts to melt. The intense cold forces your brain to shift focus from the panic to the physical sensation. It’s a quick way to snap yourself out of the “what ifs” and into what is.
4. Do Jumping Jacks or Quick Movement
Panic often floods your body with adrenaline. Instead of letting it spin inside you, use it. Do 10–20 jumping jacks, run in place, or shake out your arms. Physical movement helps release that surge of energy and reminds your body that you’re safe.
5. Splash Cold Water on Your Face
This one taps into the “dive reflex” a natural calming response triggered when cold water touches your skin. Splash your face or hold a cool washcloth over it. It signals your body to slow your heart rate and shift out of panic mode.
6. Stand Barefoot on Cold Ground
Step outside and put your bare feet on the grass, pavement, or tile floor. The direct contact with something cool and solid can instantly ground you, pulling your focus out of your racing thoughts and into your body.
7. Box Breathing: Regain Control of Your Breath
Box breathing is a simple but powerful DBT-inspired tool. Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Repeat several rounds. This steady rhythm tells your nervous system: We’re safe now. You can calm down.
8. More DBT Skills: Changing Your Body’s Chemistry
DBT emphasizes skills that target your body directly to calm your emotions. Two of the most effective during panic are:
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Tense one muscle group at a time for 5 seconds, then release. Moving through your whole body reduces overall tension and signals safety.
Paced Breathing: Exhale longer than you inhale (try in for 4, out for 6–8). This slows your heart rate and flips your body into its natural calming system.
These skills don’t just distract you—they literally change your physiology, giving you more control in moments that feel out of control.
Finding Confidence in Calming Yourself
Panic attacks can make you feel powerless, but that doesn’t have to be the story. Every time you practice one of these skills, whether it’s holding ice, splashing cold water, or slowing your breath, you teach your body and mind that you can handle the wave.
Over time, these small moments of self-regulation build confidence. The panic may still come, but it won’t control you the same way. And that shift, from panic controlling you to you calming panic.
Take Back Control From Panic
With the right support and tools, panic attacks don’t have to run your life. Start building confidence and calm today.
Contact Sagebrush CounselingFAQ: Panic Attacks & Grounding
What causes panic attacks?
Panic attacks are often triggered by stress, trauma, or overwhelming emotions, but they can also happen without a clear reason. They’re a surge of your body’s fight-or-flight response, even when there’s no real danger.
How long do panic attacks last?
Most panic attacks peak within 10 minutes and fade within 20–30 minutes. While they feel frightening, they are temporary and not physically harmful.
Do grounding skills really work?
Yes. Grounding and DBT-based skills shift your body’s chemistry—slowing your heart rate, regulating your breath, and redirecting your focus—so panic naturally subsides.
How can therapy help with panic attacks?
Therapy provides a safe space to explore triggers, learn DBT and CBT coping skills, and address underlying causes like anxiety or trauma. A therapist can guide you in practicing these tools until they feel second nature.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are experiencing frequent or severe panic attacks, or if you ever feel unsafe, please reach out to a licensed mental health professional or your healthcare provider. If you are in crisis, call 911 (in the U.S.) or your local emergency number right away. You can also call or text 988 in the U.S. to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for immediate support. Other resources here.
