How do you calm someone down?

Calming someone down is usually a process of removing the triggers which cause the distress followed by allowing the mind of the individual to relieve stress and regain emotional control. How to do this very much depends on the situation, but a good few steps could be:

1. Someone is in distress, establish where the stress is coming from, if the stress is caused by the current situation, take someone out of that situation into a calm environment (with as little distractions as possible).

2. Tell someone you are there to help them and that they are safe. If you have any relevant training or experience, say so (for instance: "I'm a nurse" or "I've been through this as well" or "I've had a first aid training").

3. Ask questions. Let someone ventilate what they feel, do not judge them or the situation, and certainly avoid mischaracterizing the significance of the situation to the individual. Set your personal beliefs and rationality aside and allow the person to empty their thoughts on the situation which caused the distress - but make sure you don't get emotional yourself or exacerbate things otherwise.

4. Arrange for any professional or additional help that may be needed, communicate this and everything else you do with the individual you are helping (keep them in the loop).

5. Ask what the person needs at this moment and in the future to avoid or cope with the situation. Help them find solutions by offering your own (but do not push them!) and exploring (through questions) what caused the situation to occur.

6. When the initial distress is gone and the situation is under control, subtly move the mind to other less heavy subjects. Small talk is good, but many people will appreciate silence as well. Don't be afraid to allow the previous happening to come up again, if it does, clearly the individual isn't done ventilating on it.

Some techniques on getting people to calm down are breathing exercises and physical exercises. Both work well when the issue is not so much a mentally stressful situation but rather an overload of input, or something like hyperventilation. In those cases it isn't necessary to ventilate the mental strain of a particular situation, but just to get the mind off of whatever it is that is causing the distress and to calm down the body.