Last night, whilst comfortably asleep after a three-course meal, a couple of aperol spritzers and a very involved card game of rummy, I suffered a mild panic attack where I struggled to breathe. It was the first time this had happened since I was five years old. It also happened to be the first night I was spending on the beautiful island of Corfu, with my family for what should have been one last week of relaxed fun with them until I move out on my own.

I can’t pinpoint what brought this on but the doctors seemed to think it was more psychological than physical last time (although this time it could have been the wonky Z-bed I was sleeping on!)

However I panicked when I woke up and texted a good friend who kindly advised me to get outside into fresh air. He didn’t know it was raining with thunder at the time, but I didn’t have any better suggestions for how to get my breathing back under control.

I put on a light jumper and slid open the balcony door, letting the fresh air and sound of the ocean waves fill the tiny room I was living in. I stepped outside onto cool ground and just sat and stared at the black horizon where I couldn’t make out the difference between sea and sky. I could only hear the noise of the ocean waves and look up and see some faint unrecognisable stars.

I immediately felt better. Calmer. Controlled. Sitting up forces you to take longer deeper breaths than lying down which can be tricky for some heavy sleepers (of which I’m clearly not one). I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some top mindset coaches on bringing anxiety and nerves under control, and at the heart of it is to always A) breathe in for a count of 6, hold for a count of 6, breathe out for a count of 6, hold for a count of 6 (there are variations which can be found on the Internet), and B) once that’s under control, take a long walk in nature if possible.

Being the early hours of the morning in a foreign city I didn’t have too many options but fortunately the suggestions I got were enough. Now I am calm enough to write about my little adventure and continue on with my day.

When do you get out into nature? How do you feel if you can’t?