Panic card
A card for your wallet with a few sentences you couldn't put together during an attack.
What it’s for
During panic, attention narrows and thinking fails. Sentences written in advance do the work for you.
What to write on it
- This is a panic attack. It isn’t dangerous and it will pass.
- The peak comes within minutes. I don’t have to run.
- Two steps that help you — a longer out-breath, for instance, and naming five things you can see.
- The name and number of someone you can call.
How to use it
Carry it with you, or photograph it onto your lock screen. Just knowing you have it often lowers anticipatory anxiety.
See also
See also
Signs of being overloaded
Your own list of the signs by which you recognise you're going over the edge — before you do.
Sleep diary
A simple table that records, for two weeks, when you go to bed, when you fall asleep and how you slept.
Mood diary
A short daily record of mood that, after two weeks, shows a pattern you can't see from the inside.
