A 5-Year-Old Helped Her Mom Calm Down From a Panic Attack in an Emotional Video

A young girl was there for her mom when she needed the most and her kind act is taking the Internet by storm. As her mom struggled with a panic attack, little Noella offered to help calm her mom down with a simple technique that she had been taught growing up. The beautiful interaction was captured on video.

The girl had never been taught how to handle panic attacks.

In a viral TikTok video, which has been viewed over 24 million times, 5-year-old Noella saw her mom, Kimberlee Bushman, in distress and decided to use a technique that her parents often use on her to calm her down. She held out her hand to her mom, who then had to slowly blow out her fingers, as if they were candles, one at a time. At the end of the clip, the girl offers her mom a hug and they embrace.

In the comment section of the video, captioned, “She definitely is my saving grace. You matter,” users congratulated both the mother and child for how they handled the situation. “By exposing her to a hard thing she has become and will only continue to grow into such an empathetic soul,” one user wrote.

Days after the clip went viral, the mom posted a follow-up video on TikTok where she gave more details about how it all happened and clarified that her daughter is not “relied on by [her] to calm [her] down during any situation.”

Kimberlee explained that, by the time of the sweet mom-daughter interaction, she had already calm herself down enough and that it was the first time her daughter had ever helped her. “When she saw her mom struggling the way that she sometimes struggles to handle her big emotions, she got up here and asked me if I wanted to blow out the candles like we do for her,” Kimberlee told.

How to deal with panic attacks.

Panic attacks can have both mental and physical symptoms. Among the latter are nausea, sweating and dizziness. It’s also common for people to feel as if they’re having a heart attack, however the symptoms are not dangerous.

When it comes to handling panic attacks, experts believe that it’s crucial to not let the fear of having a panic attack control you, and they advise against looking for distractions. “Ride out the attack. Try to keep doing things,” said an expert. “Confront your fear. If you don’t run away from it, you’re giving yourself a chance to discover that nothing’s going to happen.”

For short and sudden panic attacks, the kind presence of someone else reassuring it’ll pass can be key.

Many celebrities have been outspoken about their own mental health struggles. Deadpool-star Ryan Reynolds, for example, has been candid about his battle with anxiety and how it deeply affects him.