Daily · Sep 23, 2026 · Grounding

What to do during a panic attack: look left, look right

By Vernon B · Reviewed and edited by Vernon B · Updated Oct 19, 2026

When panic hits, the world can feel like it has shrunk to your chest and the scary thought. Your attention tunnels. Your nervous system is scanning for threat.

Gently turning your head and naming something ordinary — a lamp, a door frame, a mug — is a small cue that you are here, in this room, not inside the catastrophe.

Try look left, look right

• Soften your shoulders if you can.
• Slowly look to your left. Pause.
• Slowly look to your right. Pause.
• Say (out loud or in your head) one ordinary object you see. Not a threat. Just a thing.

You do not have to feel calm yet. One look around the room is enough of a start. This peak can pass.

For more free tools, keep our coping tools nearby.

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