Panic Protocol

Match the tool to the state.

The steps

1. Orient. Name five things in the room. Force visual contact with each one.
2. Feet on floor. Feel the pressure. This is real. You are here.
3. Extended exhale inhale four counts, exhale eight. Repeat five times minimum.
4. Cold water on face or wrists. The dive response activates within thirty seconds. (cautions above)
5. Name it "This is panic. It is temporary. It will pass. I have been here before."
6. Do not fight the sensations that amplifies them. Allow the wave. Regulate the breath.

Where it comes from

• Session 15 — the full handoutWhat it is for, when it goes wrong, and what to say
• Session 15 — Shutdown, Panic, Anger, Grief, and ShameIn the book

Prefer it one step at a time? The same protocol as a guided runner in the app, which also keeps a private record if you want one.

This is one of the tools a seventeen-session series teaches, ninety minutes at a time, in a room of six to twelve people. It is peer-facilitated and free to host.

Check what stayed 3 questions

Answer in your own words, out loud or on paper. Nothing is scored, nothing is marked, and nothing is stored — this is for noticing what you have, not for anybody to grade.

1. What state is this protocol for, and which side of the window is it?

   What the material says

   Panic, flooding, racing heart

2. The first step is to orient. How many things, and what do you do with each?

   What the material says

   Name five things in the room. Force visual contact with each one.

3. There is one instruction about the sensations themselves. What is it, and what happens if you do the opposite?

   What the material says

   Do not fight the sensations that amplifies them. Allow the wave. Regulate the breath.