This may sound silly....but it's helped me on numerous occasions. I literally start naming things to myself from my surroundings. Everything. Even if happens when I'm driving. In a store? I look at a person and start this dialogue with myself. In short, descriptive words.
There's a lady
She has dark hair
She got it cut yesterday
She is wearing boots
She ordered them online
They came in two days
The boots are brown
She has a blue purse
Inside the purse is lipstick
Inside the purse is a wallet
And so on
I know it sounds silly but if I do it in slow short sentences to myself....it pulls my brain away from the panic.
Sometimes if it happens in a therapy session, my T has had me name things in the room. Or he has me spell words. It helps me
There's a lady
She has dark hair
She got it cut yesterday
She is wearing boots
She ordered them online
They came in two days
The boots are brown
She has a blue purse
Inside the purse is lipstick
Inside the purse is a wallet
And so on
I know it sounds silly but if I do it in slow short sentences to myself....it pulls my brain away from the panic.
Sometimes if it happens in a therapy session, my T has had me name things in the room. Or he has me spell words. It helps me