Panic attacks

A panic attack usually passes within minutes to tens of minutes. You can get through it.

Symptoms

• A racing heart
• A choking feeling, hyperventilation
• Chest pain or tightness
• Dizziness, tingling in hands and feet
• Sweating, trembling, chills or flushes
• Terror of "dying" or "going mad"
• A sense of unreality

What you can do now

1. Sit somewhere safe. If driving, pull over.
2. Breathe out slowly — make the out-breath longer than the in-breath.
3. Focus on the feeling of your feet on the floor.
4. Count five things you can see. It brings you back to here and now.
5. Tell yourself: "this is a panic attack and it will pass."
6. Don't fight it — let it pass through.

When to see a doctor

• If it's your first time, it needs distinguishing from heart or thyroid problems. Get checked.
• If chest pain spreads to the arm or jaw, or you break into a cold sweat, it may be the heart. Call 119. See heart-attack-signs.
• If it recurs, psychiatric care manages it well — treatment tends to work.

Where to go

• 1577-0199 mental health helpline (24 hours)
• 1577-1366 Danuri Call Centre (multilingual)
• Your local mental health welfare centre
• 119 if a heart problem is suspected
• Psychiatry — see mental-health-help

Questions people ask

It happens on the subway or in lifts. A common pattern. Avoidance makes it worse. Counselling and treatment let you re-adapt step by step.

Should I take medication? It helps in some cases. Discuss it with a doctor. Never take someone else's medication.

What do I do if someone near me has one? Say calmly "it's alright, this will pass" and stay with them. Don't restrain or press them. Breathing into a bag is not recommended.

It happened at work. Move somewhere quiet and settle. If it recurs, discuss treatment together with work adjustments.

Take care

On a first episode, always get checked to rule out heart disease. Panic attacks aren't dangerous, but heart problems with similar symptoms are. Alcohol and caffeine make panic worse.

Related

mental-crisis · mental-health-welfare · heart-attack-signs · suicidal-thoughts · depression-support

Source

Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Mental Health Portal www.mentalhealth.go.kr / As of 2026-08