A few months ago, I started having panic attacks after a very traumatic event happened in my life. I felt as if something had control of my body and mind and was keeping me captive in a state of terror. I felt myself go still, my breathing grew shallow, the world became fuzzy and I was unsure of where I was or who was with me. All I could do was stare wide eyed at whomever was trying to help me. And then I felt extra horrible because my panic scared people who cared about me. They would beg me to tell them what was wrong, but unfortunately talking is impossible when I am having an attack. It is only once it starts to subside that I can manage a few words but if I force myself to talk or move too soon it only increases the panic. The best things that someone can do, is to stay calm, give me a hug, hold my hand or rub my back while telling me that I will be okay and reminding me that this feeling will pass because at the time, it feels never ending. For awhile I didn't talk to anyone about my panic attacks, because taking about it made me feel terrified and I was afraid it would make them happen more. But when I finally got the courage to talk to my friends and counselor about it, I found that many people struggled with this, and many were very understanding and gave me some good advice as to how to handle my anxiety. One friend suggested to get up and walk before the panic had taken a firm hold of me. Another suggestion was to overload my senses to distract my brain from its fright. I found success with this method if I caught the anxiety quick enough. When I felt panic coming on I'd listen to a book on my iPod, doodle on a little piece of paper, watch a movie or watch students walking back and forth on campus, and focus on what the air smelled like, all at the same time. With so many things to distract me I was often able to keep it from getting to the immobilizing point. Sometimes looking closely at things in nature such as a flower or a tall tree helped calm me. And sometimes I just have to painfully wait it out. Everyone who struggles with this form of anxiety, feels it in a different way. Some people can still talk when they feel panicked, others cannot. Some people need a hug or a kind hand holding theirs, to help them and others can't stand to have anyone touch them when an attack hits. The important thing is, if you have a friend who struggles with any form of anxiety, find out from them, when they are in a calm state, what makes them feel better or worse and ask them what you should do when they have an attack. And the other very important thing is we must NEVER think or act like someone is ridiculous for panicking or like their cause of panic is silly. Believe me, there were many times that I felt ridiculous to be getting so upset when the thing that triggered the attack did not appear to be panic worthy, but I could not just reason my panic away when I was having an attack and if I believed my fear to be silly, or if someone treated me as if I was ridiculous, it got worse. One thing that I can guarantee you everyone who struggles with anxiety would be glad to get from you, is understanding. All you need to do is try to be understanding to those having a panic attack and whether they express it to you or not, they will be grateful to you.