Panic Quotes

“You can't be afraid of people willing to hurt you, cause if you fear life, then you will never live.”
― Chester Bennington

“Her breath was short, and her heart was pounding- she feared that at any moment it might just give out. And he was standing there eating an apple.

But she knew he felt something. She no longer believed anything that had happened between them in the Hollow was because of the mirth stone. The mirth stone didn't create bliss; all it had done was mend wounds and take away fear.

What was Jacks afraid of? What was his wound.”
― Stephanie Garber, The Ballad of Never After

“When in trouble, when in doubt
Run in circles, scream and shout.”
― John Ajvide Lindqvist, Handling the Undead

“We often suffer more from our response to a difficulty, than from the difficulty itself. Panic and anxiety don't lessen what we are facing, they magnify it.”
― J.S. Felts, Ageless Wisdom: A Treasury of Quotes to Motivate & Inspire

“Just because you don’t know the way out doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist.”
― Curtis Tyrone Jones

“A rich, full, and meaningful life comes about through accepting your thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them, and taking effective action, guided by your deepest values.”
― Russ Harris

“I was in doubt, and then everything took a hue of unreality, and I did not know what to trust, even the evidence of my own senses. Not knowing what to trust, I did not know what to do; and so had only to keep on working in what had hitherto been the groove of my life. The groove ceased to avail me, and I mistrusted myself... You don't know what it is to doubt everything, even yourself... It was the doubt as to the reality of the whole thing that knocked me over. I felt impotent, and in the dark, and distrustful. But now that I know, I am not afraid...”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

“When our focus is on property and possession, we are subject to panic, heartbreak, and distress.”
― John M. Sheehan

“In panic it’s time to take stock and look at the virus within us, a virus addicted to hurry, busy.”
― Shaneen Clarke, The Lord of the Silence: Experiencing Intimacy With God In This Fast-Paced World

“Being alone,” she started, “isn’t exactly something I’m good at doing. Every time I try to be alone—even when I know that someone I know isn’t too far away—I start... panicking, I guess.” Caroline stopped to take a breath, feeling like what she was saying was the most draining conversation she had ever had in her life. “So, when I come out here, I can convince myself that I’m fine. I can almost get it to where I’ll believe that I can function like a normal human being because if I can go to another state and be alone, I should be able to do anything.”
― Heidi Dischler, All the Little Things

“Anxiety, panic, heartaches, depression, tremors, crying, are the signs that tells you to change either your path or you. It is you who will decide what to change!!”
― Dr. Bhawna Sokta

“Do not panic in pain.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“I once watched a video of a deer being rescued from drowning only to find herself surrounded by humans, and then she ran immediately back into the water. It's what panic looks like. An animal feeling of blind propulsion that aims at survival but doesn't quite get it right. We are so preoccupied with disaster that we step right into it.”
― Margaret Kimball, And Now I Spill the Family Secrets: An Illustrated Memoir – A Poignant and Inspiring Coming-of-Age Story About Mothers and Daughters

“Ja, jetzt! Das ist auch einfach. Aber andere Situationen sind nicht so leicht zu entschlüsseln. Das ist ja mein Problem! Ich bekomme Angstanfälle in Momenten, in denen ich überhaupt nicht traurig bin. In denen scheinbar alles in Ordnung ist. Und dann denke und denke und denke ich. Versuche, in meinem Kopf zusammenzufügen, was nicht zusammengehört. Mein Kopf ist wie ein minderwertig produziertes Puzzlespiel, die eizelnen Stücke sind schlecht ausgestanzt und passen einfach nicht zusammen! Es macht mich wahnsinnig immer auf der Suche nach einer Ursache zu sein. Die ganzen Möglichkeiten rennen in meinem Kopf durcheinander wie eine aufmüpfige Kindergartengruppe. Alles schreit und will nicht in einer Reihe stehen!”
― Sarah Kuttner, Mängelexemplar

“Athletes who are willing to put themselves out there, who can handle failure and criticism, take risks, rarely panic, and enjoy the challenge of getting stuck in.”
― Simon Marshall, The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion

“Do not panic in this pandemic but pray for protection.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“Do not panic in pain but pray.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“My first instincts were (in this order) to scream, run around in circles, shit myself, and perform a stiff-legged faint like those myotonic goats, but this wasn't a time to panic.”
― Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom

“When in pain, never panic, just say a prayer.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“The spreading panic of being blind and knowing that you cannot see what is trying to harm you.”
― Giles Kristian, Where Blood Runs Cold

“She could hear how his voice broke. His fierce emotion was like an unwanted tether, pulling her panic back to the surface.”
― Allyson S. Barkley, A Vision in Smoke

“...earlier today I read that 'anxiety' derives from a Latin word meaning 'to narrow'. And I know that this is exactly what my mind has been going through: a narrowing. And I know that when I write my mind feels like an immense playground that I can endlessly swing in, with so much space and wonder. And that when I am anxious I tread the same tired paths that wind smaller and tighter, and I lose all my perspective.”
― Tilly Lawless, Nothing but My Body

“The fascinating thing about fear is that it feeds on itself. Simply instill it at the right moment and then let it grow. Very quickly, it turns into panic and irrationality. People end up shooting themselves in the foot … they're then ripe for the picking…”
― Debuhme, A Taste for Blood

“Tamlin slumped against the edge of the table, gripping his injured hand at the wrist as he watched me sort through the supplies in the cabinets and drawers. When I'd gathered what I'd needed, I tried not to balk at the thought of touching him, but... I didn't let myself give in to my dread as I took his hand, the heat of his skin like an inferno against my cool fingers.

I cleaned off his bloody, dirty hand, bracing for the first flash of those claws. But his claws remained retracted, and he kept silent as I bound and wrapped his hand- surprisingly enough, there were no more than a few vicious cuts, none of them requiring stitching.

I secured the bandage in place and stepped away, bringing the bowl of bloody water to the deep sink in the back of the room. His eyes were a brand upon me as I finished cleaning, and the room became too small, too hot. He'd killed the Bogge and walked away relatively unscathed. If Tamlin was that powerful, then the High Lords of Prythian must be near-gods. Every mortal instinct in my body bleated in panic at the thought.”
― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

“I’m dying. I’ve got to be. There’s no other explanation.”
― Lisa Williamson, The Art of Being Normal

“Stuck on "on": how to manage a Sympathetic response
1. Say to yourself, "I am having trauma response. This is a physiological process. I'm not crazy."
2. Make a list of people, places, and things that you love. Notice how your body feels as you think about hugging your best friend, sitting on a beach, or curling up with your favorite book.
3. Use your senses. Weighted blankets. Essential oils. Soft music. Warm tea. These can all help your nervous system come back down.
4. Count backward from the number 31.
5. Notice 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, and 1 thing you can taste.
6. Push as hard as you can against a door or a wall. Notice your muscles firing. Step back, take a break. Repeat three times.
7. Do simple math problems in your head. Simple thinking tasks will help your brain reorientate itself.
8. Name the sensations inside your body. Say to yourself out loud, "I feel tension in my neck. I feel tightness in my stomach. I feel he
at in my face." Then look for one place in your body where you feel neutral or calm. Most people can access neutral by noticing random areas like their left knee cap or right ring finger. Focus your attention first on the neutral area, then on the tense area, then on the neutral area. Do this for four minutes.
9. Don't ask why you feel panic. Do ask who or what will help you feel safe.
10. If you have a dog or a cat, gently put your hand on their heart and count their heartbeat for three minutes.

Stuck on "off": how to manage a high tone dorsal vagal state.
1. Remind yourself that you are not lazy or unmotivated. Tell yourself, "I am having a trauma response. This is a thing. I am not crazy."
2. Get cold. Splash ice-cold water on your face. Hold ice cubes in your hand. Put an ice pack on your neck. Or jump into the coldest possible shower you can stand.
3. Hum or sing. There's a reason people have changed "Ommm" since the 6th century.
4. Social connection is powerful
medicine. Connect with a human over the phone: good. Over video chat: better: In person: best.
5. Don't ask why you're feeling frozen. Do ask who or what might help you feel safer.
6. Don't use hyperbolic exaggerated language like "I feel buried" or "I'm drowning." This language reinforces the stress response. Instead, get really specific." I need to call my son's teacher, pick up my prescription and finish a proposal for work." Write down the specific tasks. This will help your brain click back into solution mode.
7. Suck on a lemon. This sounds weird, but it can help suck your brain out of shutdown mode.
8. Open and close your mouth. Then move your head. Then stretch your arms and legs.
9. Grab both ends of a blanket and wring it out as you would if it was soaking wet. Notice your muscles firing as you do this. Take a break. Repeat three times.
10. If you have a safe and willing friend or partner, make eye contact with them for 2-3 minutes. It's super awkward, but you will get a bonus dose of energy if you both end up laughing.”
― Britt Frank, The Science of Stuck: Breaking Through Inertia to Find Your Path Forward

“It may seem absurd to those who read that I should have been so easily vanquished; but there are times that occasionally come when we are completely alone, cut off from all contact and intercourse with friends and acquaintances, when we are oppressed by the futility of all and every effort. It is more than procrastination; willpower is sapped, ambition withered, enthusiasm dead. No one is to blame but our own thinking. 'There is nothing good nor bad but thinking makes it so', but sometimes circumstances are so powerful that we yield to them and instantly a paralysis of inaction creeps upon us, both mental and physical.”
― Walter J.C. Murray, Copsford

“Don’t panic!” “I’m not panicking.” Quin observed. “I’m watching you panic. It’s more entertaining.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Brothers in Arms

“When you panic, things don’t come to you.”
― Harjeet Khanduja, The Storytelling Leader and other stories

“You never know- not truly- what it takes to make you discard caution until it's happening.”
― Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night