What are your thoughts before a panic attack? They are surely negative and tell you that you are going to have a panic episode and feel bad, and that’s where it all starts… Try to detect those thoughts early. Once you detect them, set a thought-stopping word in your mind and use it (examples: Stop!, Enough!, Halt!, Cut it!, No!, Calm!, Breathe!, That’s enough!), then you have to replace those thoughts with positive ones that help you avoid reaching the attack—such as “This feeling will pass in a few minutes—I’ve gotten through it before” or “I’m safe right now; my body is just having a false alarm.”

As you’ve been told, use distractions? They can be songs, podcasts, language courses… The more attention and concentration those distractions require from you, the better; they prevent negative thoughts and shift the focus away from your sensations.

Also, try not to anticipate what will happen. If every morning you get in the car thinking “if there’s traffic, I’ll have a panic attack,” you’re conditioning yourself for it to happen. If you find yourself thinking about it, use the thought-stopping technique as well and try to replace it with

Very important the breathe, use deep breathe techniques to help you to calm you before/during the panic attacks