For anxiety or panic, the NHS suggests a calm breathing exercise: breathe in gently through your nose, let the breath flow down toward your belly, and breathe out through your mouth, without forcing it. It says this can be done anywhere and works best when you practice it regularly. Below is what an episode usually feels like, a short script for the middle of one, what to do if breathing makes you feel worse, and a calm-day routine.
This page is only about anxiety and panic episodes. For everyday exercises by situation, see our breathing exercises for stress. For a comparison of many methods, see breathing techniques.
What an anxiety or panic episode feels like
The NHS says anxiety can show up in the body, the mind and in behavior. When you feel anxious or scared, it explains, your body releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which can raise your heart rate and make you sweat. In some people this can lead to a panic attack.
The NHS lists these possible symptoms of a panic attack:
- a racing heartbeat
- feeling faint, dizzy or light-headed
- feeling that you are losing control
- sweating, trembling or shaking
- shortness of breath or breathing very quickly
- tingling in your fingers or lips
- feeling sick
It also says a panic attack usually lasts 5 to 20 minutes. It can be frightening, but it is not dangerous and should not harm you. That is worth remembering in the middle of one: it has a usual length, and it passes.
Minute by minute: a rough timeline
This is our own way of using the NHS numbers, not a medical timeline. Episodes differ a lot.
| Time | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Minute 0 to 1 | Notice it: "This is anxiety. It usually passes." Sit, stand with your feet on the floor, or lie down. |
| Minutes 1 to 5 | Start the breathing script below. Do not try to stop the feelings. Just keep the breath gentle. |
| Minutes 5 to 20 | Keep breathing at your own pace. The NHS says an attack usually ends within this range. |
| Afterward | The NHS lists talking about your feelings with a friend or family member among the things to try. |
A breathing script for the middle of an episode
This script is based on the NHS exercise. Read it aloud slowly, or learn the five steps so you do not need the page. Do not force anything. If counting makes it worse, drop the counting. Step 5 is this site's own addition, not part of the NHS exercise.
Timing: each (pause) is about 5 seconds and each (long pause) about 15 seconds. Read at that pace, the whole script takes about 5 minutes, of which steps 2 to 4 are about 4 minutes of breathing. The NHS says to repeat the breathing for at least 5 minutes, so repeat step 4 once before you move to step 5.
Step 1: Position (about 30 seconds). Find a position that feels supported. Sitting in a chair that supports your back works, or standing, or lying down. Put both feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart. If your clothes feel tight around your waist or chest, loosen them. Take one ordinary breath while you settle. (pause)
Step 2: First breaths (about 45 seconds, 3 slow breaths). Breathe in gently through your nose. Let the breath go down toward your belly, only as far as is comfortable. Now let it flow out through your mouth, gently, with no push. (pause) Again. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. (pause) Once more. (long pause)
Step 3: Count if it helps (about 90 seconds, 8 breaths). Breathe in, counting slowly: one, two, three. If you can, four, five. Breathe out, counting the same way: one, two, three. Four, five if you like. It is fine if you cannot reach five. Counting to two or three is fine too. (pause) Breath number two. In, one, two, three. Out, one, two, three. (pause) Number three. In. Out. (pause) Number four. In. Out. (long pause) Number five. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. (pause) Number six. Gently. (pause) Number seven. (pause) Number eight. Then let the counting go. (long pause)
Step 4: Let the breath be regular (about 90 seconds). Just keep it gentle and regular. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. (pause) Your heart may still be fast. Your hands may still shake. You do not have to change that. Only keep the breath easy. (long pause) If your mind says "something is wrong," answer it quietly: "This is anxiety. It passes." (long pause) Keep going. In. Out. Nothing to fix. (long pause) Two more slow breaths, at your own pace. (long pause)
Step 5: Come back (about 45 seconds, this site's addition). Take one more slow breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Then let your breath return to its own rhythm. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel what is holding you up. (pause) Look around the room and find three things you can see. (pause) When you are ready, move your fingers and shoulders. (long pause)
If you would rather follow a pace on screen, this website (not the app) has a guided breathing exercise tool.
If breathing exercises make you feel worse
If focusing on your breath does not feel right for you, these are this site's suggestions, built on the NHS wording where noted. They are not medical advice.
- Do not force the breath. The NHS says to let your breath flow as deep as is comfortable, without forcing it.
- Shorten the count. The NHS says counting is optional, and that you may not be able to reach 5 at first. Counting to two or three is also fine, as this site suggests.
- Look outward instead. If the breath is the problem, try grounding techniques, which pull your attention to what you can see, hear and touch.
- Ask for help. The NHS says to see a GP if the things you are trying yourself are not helping.
A calm-day routine to practice
The NHS says you get the most benefit from its breathing exercise if you do it regularly, as part of your daily routine. That is why it helps to practice when you are not anxious: the steps are familiar when you need them.
Pick a daily moment, do steps 2 to 4 of the script in the same position each time, and note how it went in a line or two. The NHS Every Mind Matters site says a diary of what you do and how you feel may help you understand why you are anxious. For the everyday exercises themselves, use our guide to breathing exercises for stress; this page stays with episodes.
Breathing is one tool among several. The NHS also lists regular exercise, regular meals, talking about your feelings and meditation among the things to try, and it says not to avoid situations that make you anxious but to build up time in them slowly. Our guide on how to calm down has a quick plan for tense moments, and fight or flight explains what happens in the body.
Guided meditation in the app
If you would rather be guided than read a script, AI Meditation: Sleep & Calm writes a new meditation for that moment after a short mood check-in, read aloud by an AI voice. It is a wellness app: it does not diagnose or treat anything and does not replace medical advice, and it is for adults. You can try it for free, no account needed. See how the app works.
What breathing can and cannot do
- It is one self-help tool. The NHS lists calming breathing exercises among the things you can try for anxiety, fear and panic. It does not present them as a replacement for help.
- One try is not the whole picture. The NHS says the exercise gives the most benefit when you do it regularly, so do not judge it by one attempt.
- It does not tell you the cause. The NHS says regular anxiety, fear or panic can be the main symptom of several health conditions, and not to self-diagnose.
When to get help
The NHS says to see a GP if you are struggling to cope with anxiety, fear or panic, if the things you are trying yourself are not helping, or if you would like a referral to NHS talking therapies. If you are 18 or over (or 16 or over in some areas) in England, the NHS says you can refer yourself to talking therapies without seeing a GP. In the US, NIMH says anxiety disorders involve anxiety that does not go away, is felt in many situations and can get worse over time.
Chest pains, light-headedness and breathlessness are on the NHS list of anxiety symptoms. Every Mind Matters says that if you cannot tell whether shortness of breath comes from anxiety, or you are worried about other symptoms, see a GP.
If you are struggling or having thoughts of suicide, NIMH says to call or text 988 in the US, and to call 911 in a life-threatening situation.
Your health
This page is general wellbeing information, not medical advice, and the app does not diagnose or treat anything. The NHS says to see a GP if you are struggling to cope with anxiety or panic, or if things you try yourself are not helping, and Every Mind Matters says to see a GP if you cannot tell whether shortness of breath comes from anxiety. If you are struggling or having thoughts of suicide, NIMH says to call or text 988 in the US, and to call 911 in a life-threatening situation. The NHS page on anxiety, fear and panic explains when to get help.
Sources
All pages accessed on October 15, 2026.
- NHS: Breathing exercises for stress (page last reviewed June 12, 2026). The breathing exercise for stress, anxiety and panic: position, nose in and mouth out, counting to 5, at least 5 minutes, regular practice.
- NHS: Anxiety, fear and panic (page last reviewed July 13, 2026). Symptoms, panic attack signs and the 5 to 20 minute length, stress hormones, things to try, when to see a GP.
- NHS: Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) (page last reviewed October 22, 2024). Calming breathing exercises among self-help steps, and when to see a GP.
- NIMH: Anxiety Disorders (last reviewed December 2024). How anxiety disorders differ from occasional worry, and the 988 and 911 crisis information.
- NHS Every Mind Matters: Managing anxiety. Breathing within mindfulness, keeping a diary, and seeing a GP about shortness of breath.
