can any one help? what does a panic attack feel like?

[blubs]

Hi everyone

I have been ill for a week or so...
Tonight I went to bed and can't sleep.

I feel anxious and 'panicky' a lot in general....but I don't think I have ever had a 'panic attack'. But tonight I have got stomach pains, pains in my arms and legs, in my chest and I feel like someone is pressing on my throat.
Are any of these things you might feel if you were having a panic attack?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated...as I am quite freaked out.
blubsx

 

[MadCat]

These are signs of anxiety. Maybe not a panic attack, just a burst of large anxiety.

Panic attacks come in many forms but are mostly known as physical symptoms. I have anxiety all the time but they are not panic attacks.

When I have to meet a person in my own home (is all I can do) I show symptoms of very bad anxiety but once again no panic attack.

If you had a panic attack I think you would probably notice something is seriously wrong. I'm not expert in this field though as my panic attacks are purely mental.

 

[blubs]

Hi madcat.
I have high levels of anxiety quite a lot........to the point where I feel sick, and if I'm with people and I get anxious, I get shaky and stressed to the point that I have a nervous twitch. But tonight I have been feeling all these physical symptoms, and couldn't tell if they were from being ill, or from panicking. But I think it was anxiety because it seems to be going a bit.
Thanks for replying

 

[MadCat]

If it was a panic attack, I would start looking for triggers. Somethng would have triggered it I think. Anyway I am glad it is going down.

I've had a panic attack with some physical symptoms once. My stomach felt empty and I felt physically sick. I also felt like bursting out in tears and stood up suddenly and totally went beserk..I was just walking around in circles for half an hour until i regained control.

That wa sa very bad and anxious time for me.

 

[blubs]

Hi Madcat
Its being ill in the first place that triggered it I think...
because if I get ill and feel something going on with my body that I'm not used to, I worry about it. Thats why I felt so freaked out because I didn't know if I was suddenly getting more ill, or panicking about being ill.
But now I feel reassured so those symptoms have eased off

Until next time....when i'll think I'm going to die again :roll:

 

[MadCat]

LOL Blubs. I been there!

When I am feeling abit unwell I think it's going to get worse, then it does..and I wonder if I'm going to die.

 

[Remus]

I think a panic attack should be renamed as "an extreme terror attack" coz the ones I've ever had have felt that way, when you have one you certainly know its one, sounds like youve had an anxiety attack which I think is a watered down version.

like I said in another thread, I've been to hostpital three times with panic attacks , convinced I was dying.

Luckily that dosnt last and you learn to cope with them

 

[thugaveli]

From my experience panic attacks take place very quickly, without warning most of the time and you always think they arnt going to end

Sometimes id get breathless, dizzy, faint, hot, and just feel crazy wondering when its going to end
Heart races are probably the most common symptom in a panic attack

 

[Remus]

the worst ones are the "cant breath, choking to death ones" not had one for a while thank god

 

[Bexi]

these are awful, i had a panic attack once when driving very scary, i was breathing really fast and quickly, couldnt calm down, and was real hot and light headed

 

[Bexi]

these are awful, i had a panic attack once when driving very scary, i was breathing really fast and quickly, couldnt calm down, and was real hot and light headed

 

[Bexi]

these are awful, i had a panic attack once when driving very scary, i was breathing really fast and quickly, couldnt calm down, and was real hot and light headed

 

[afellowsufferer]

blubs you are suffering from anxiety. you are more worried then panicky.
i have a panic disorder and i have had many panic attacks when i have one i feel like running around hysterically and to me it seems like nothing is real and i dont know who i am. also i have cold chills i feel weak my heart races and my mind seems blank but racing. a person who suffers from this disorder usually devolps more anxiety about the panic attack because your are worried and afraid of having another. if you believe you have panic attacks/panic disorder talk to your doctor about an SSRI which is an antidepressant but it does help also talk to him about cognitive behavioural therapy. when combined studies have shown rapid improvement and about 80-90 percent are cured. to relive your anxiety get some lavender candles, air freshener anything with lavender. also chamomile both are natural anti anxiety/stress releivers. i have had this problem since i was 16 and im 23 now. usually it doesnt last but a few months but it can seem like forever. my seems to happen in like spells im good for a while and then i get them all over again. i am on antidepresants right now where i live there are no cognitive therapists but i would strongly recomend it. and it will get better trust me. get some lavender and chamomile it will help. candles, shampoo, conditioner, air fresheners are good ways to help you relax. its worked for me

 

[random]

I had my first anxiety attack about a year ago. I went on Prozac to control the panic but therapy began to dig up the origin (supressed emotional pain/guilt from my past) and so the panic attacks would break through the prozac. THe first time I had a panic attack, I was hyperventilating in my sleep so when I woke up everything seemed unreal - like a nightmare. I have read that the sense of unreality is largely caused by hyperventilating. Some people say they have a pounding heartbeat - I didn't. The fact that you are hyperventilating fills your lungs up so much that breathing gets harder and harder because your lungs are already full and you are trying to breathe in MORE. This can make you feel like you can't breath. I have read that you are supposed to try to exhale really hard twice in a row to empty your lungs so you can work on calming yourself (by assuring yourself you can breath) and slowing your breathing. My therapist gave me breathing exercises - they are probably listed on the web. The theory is - you can't panic if you don't hyperventilate (I don't know if I agree with this). That theory suggests that hyperventilation is one of a series of reactions your body goes through when pyschologically fearful and it is required to maintain a series of chemical reactions (panic reactions) For me - in full panic mode - I would feel something like drops of adrenalin entering my bloodstream followed by more intense sensations of panic and an absolute certainty that I was dying. I have tried breathing exercises on mild to moderate panic attacks but resorted to xanax (on top of prozac and ambien) when I had really intense panic attacks. For the most part - the breathing exercise I used was placing your hand on you stomach and trying to stop breathing high in your chest and start breathing low in your abdomen and slow it down. I found it hard to do but I did appreciate feeling like I was doing SOMETHING...distraction can help that way. I don't know how long it took for the breathing exercises to start to 'work' because I was in panic mode and I felt it took 'too long' but I suspect it was something like 10 to 15 minutes (oh I dunno - I was scared - I almost gave up several times). WHat I noticed after some time with the low, slow breathing, my shoulders relaxed (dropped back to the mattress). It took the edge off. The counseling dug up things I had hidden from my past. Days when I 'realized' or 'faced' some aweful feeling or event in my past - I would have a big panic attack that night. After 8 months I went off Prozac and had less frequent and milder panic attacks for about 3 months more. ALthough I have had episodes of anxiety from digging up the old stuff - I have not had a true panic attack for about 6 weeks.