For those of you who don’t know, a panic attack is a sudden feeling of anxiety and fear that can happen at any time. According to WebMD, symptoms include rapid heartbeat, feeling dizzy or weak, a sense of terror, chest pains, breathing difficulties, feeling a loss of control, etc. Panic attacks normally last ten minutes or less, but they sometimes can last for longer.

Suffice to say, it is not a pleasant experience and if you are ever with a person and he or she starts to experience one of these attacks, here are some suggestions on what to do to help them.

1. Move the person to a quiet place.

Moving the person to a quiet place reduces the risk of something else frightening them further. Don’t leave the person alone, if possible. You should sit with the person and talk to them; tell them that they can get through this and say that what they are feeling is scary, but it is not dangerous. Speak to them in short sentences in a calm, gentle voice. Make sure they don’t feel like what’s happening to them is strange. Reassure them that you’re there for them.

2. Ask the person what they need.

Don’t assume to know what they need. Ask them and let them tell you. You never know what could set the person off and scare them even more. If they can’t tell you right away, then don’t push them. Once they tell you, get them what they asked for.

3. Help the person focus.

Ask, don’t tell, them to perform a simple task. An example would be to raise his or her arms over their head. If you can’t think of anything, then ask them if there’s something that they normally do in order to help them calm down. Offer to do it with them.

4. Avoid any surprises.

If you’re in a hectic environment, get them out of it, if possible. For example, crowds, places where alarms go off on a regular basis, or even if you’re in a restaurant and someone is yelling, get them away from that. Silence your cell phone. A sudden sound going off could startle them even more.

5. Get them to slow their breathing.

By getting the person to slow down their breathing, they will also slow down their heart rate. Ask if they have any breathing exercises that they do to help with this. Offer to do it with them. Whether you just take a deep breath in through your nose and blow it out through your mouth or you take a deep breath in and count to ten, both of these things help to slow someone’s breathing.

Panic attacks are horrifying experiences that a lot of people have to suffer through. I know this from research as well as personal experience. Anyway that someone can help them to not be afraid during these attacks will help them more than you can possibly imagine.