Someone vomits, you feel nauseous, or your anxiety is just acting up. Whatever the reason, you're anxious or panicking. Panic attacks will make you feel out of control. But you can gain control. It might not work the first time, or the second time, or the tenth time, but overtime, you will begin to have control of your panic attacks. It will take a lot of practice, patience, and determination.

Calming down strategies:

Breathe in deep, slow breaths

Sit down and think about why you are panicking

Acknowledge that this is just a fear response your brain created

Take a walk

Count the stars

Chew gum

Let it out. Cry. Scream. You'll feel worse if you keep it in.

Talk to someone about how you're feeling.

Get occupied. Try reading, drawing, watching a movie, writing in a journal, counting backwards from 100, listening to music, taking a nap, completing a puzzle, or cleaning the house. Just do whatever will get your mind off of your fear.

 

When you start to feel anxious:

Eat something. This may be the last thing an emetophobic wants to do when they start to feel a little queasy or anxious, but it will help calm your body. You see, if you just sit down and eat something, anything, your brain will start to send signals to the rest of the body to prepare for the food to come down and enter the digestive tract. Your body will have a hard time panicking and eating at the same time, because when we are in a dangerous situation, our bodies don't expect to be eating anything since it's a matter of life or death. Once food starts going down, your body will realize that if you were in actual danger, you wouldn't be eating. Make sense?

Slow down. Let yourself panic. Don't bottle up your emotions. It's okay to feel scared. You might want to escape where you are or go home. These things might help you calm down at the moment, but in the long run, your brain will store that information that "saved you". Thus, you will be more likely to do those things the next time you panic. If you face your fear and calm down in the moment, your brain will say, "hey wait a minute. You didn't need to panic. You stayed there and nothing happened!". Your brain is powerful. An emetophobic brain will trick you and make you do the wrong thing. You've got to fight back.