As someone who has experienced multiple panic and anxiety attacks, I can understand and relate to how frightening they are and how hard it is to really overcome them in the moment that it's happening. However, over the course of my experiences, I've come across many techniques that help to calm me down and overcome the panic. Some of the most helpful techniques are ones that I've learned from my therapist, so I'm writing this today as a way to pass on this learned information and hopefully help others who have similar experiences.

1. Acknowledgement and taking control

The first step is to acknowledge what's happening. This may sound like common sense -- like you don't already know what you're experiencing -- but it's important for you to say it to yourself and acknowledge that the panic/fear is currently in control of your body and mind. Sometimes, when having a panic attack, we are so focused on the panic and the fear that we're trapped inside our minds, unable to focus on anything else. So when a panic or anxiety attack sets it, the first thing to do is tell yourself, "I'm having a panic attack. This is in my mind. There is no immediate threat to my body. I am safe." After acknowledging this fact, you're able to start the process of taking back control.

2. Breathing techniques

The hardest part for me -- and many others who have suffered from panic attacks -- is controlling my breathing. When I begin to panic, I start breathing in short bursts of inhales, with little to no exhale. This causes chest pain, dizziness and the sensation of choking. It feels as if I'm incapable of getting enough oxygen into my lungs, like at any moment I'm going to pass out -- or worse.

So after acknowledging that you're having a panic attack, that there is no immediate danger to your body, the next step is to focus on your breathing. When having a panic attack, if you are breathing in short exhales and you feel like you can't get enough oxygen, sometimes the best thing to do is to hold your breathe for a couple of seconds. This helps to "reset" your breathing and take away that feeling of choking.

Immediately after, try to take a deep breath in, counting to four in your head. Then hold the inhale for two to three seconds, and exhale for five seconds. I would suggest breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, but when you're in the middle of a panic attack, sometimes it can be too difficult to do so. The main thing to focus on is taking long, deep breathes. Continue this breathing technique until the panic attack subsides.

3. Changing your focus

One of the most helpful techniques I ever learned in therapy was to change the direction of my thoughts during a panic attack and to find a point of focus. Some of you may have heard this technique before, but I swear by it -- it works.

There are different ways to redirect your focus away from the panic, but the best way I've found is by looking around the area I'm located in and finding objects that I can see, touch, hear and smell. Sometimes, I'll be so lucky as to see a picture of nature in my immediate vicinity. When staring at the photograph, I try to place myself within the scene and imagine the different things I would see, smell, touch and hear.

However, if there are no photographs near you when you're experiencing an attack, then revert back to looking around the room or area you're in and picking out objects based on the senses. It really helps to ground you in the moment, making you aware of your surroundings and pulling you out of the fear and into reality.

If the "sensation" technique does not work for you, I would suggest closing your eyes and visualizing a space that you feel comfortable, relaxed and safe in.

For me, my "happy place" is a camp near Yosemite I used to go when I was kid. I'll close my eyes and imagine that I'm standing in the middle of the camp, where I'll see the familiar, faded green, wooden tables to my left, my grandma sitting on one of the benches with my cousins nearby, the old snack shack with the smell of candy and snow cones wafting towards me, the old "ravine" near the craft building, with tires, cement and vines snaking their way through the bottom, the grove of pine trees between the camp or the open forest behind the building we'd have our "campfires" at (campfires refer to our get-togethers in the evenings where people would perform skits). By visualizing as many details as I can about the camp, it really helps to take me out of the moment and change my point of focus away from the panic and onto something that makes me feel calm and safe.

So after acknowledging the attack, focusing on your breathing (deep breathes in and out), and changing your point of focus (using your senses or going to your "happy place"), hopefully you will be able to come down from the panic, ground yourself and take back control. If you or anyone else you know has any other helpful tips for overcoming an anxiety or panic attack, feel free to comment and share your ideas! We can never have too many techniques or ways to regain our sense of safety and our composure.