From Overwhelmed to Grounded: 5 Techniques I Learned in Therapy

When panic feels like your default setting, sometimes you need more than deep breaths to bring you back to earth.

I still remember the day I couldn't leave my apartment. Not because I was physically trapped but because my anxiety had constructed an invisible force field around my doorway that felt as impenetrable as concrete.

My heart raced, my palms were slick with sweat, and the thought of stepping into the world as my queer self felt impossible.

It wasn't my first panic attack, but it was the one that finally broke me open enough to seek help.

"What happens in your body when you feel this way?" my therapist asked during our second session, her voice steady while I sat there practically vibrating with nervous energy.

"Everything," I said. "My chest tightens like someone's sitting on it. My thoughts race so fast I can't grab onto a single one. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching myself from outside my body, like I'm not even real."

She nodded, not rushing to fix me.

"Your nervous system is doing exactly what it thinks it needs to do to protect you. But we can teach it other options."

That conversation c…