What are the most common symptoms of Panic Attack

HiddenErin

Member
Well I think they differ a lot form person to person.
The way they start for me is usually the heart racing feeling, then it goes into more of grasping for air (kinda choking feeling), trembling, cold sweat on the palms of my hands and forehead. Sometimes I faint, sometimes I get a nose bleed after.
But like I said it really different for everyone and if you're not sure what you're experiencing it could be a good idea to talk to a doctor, to at least confirm your theory, it couldn't hurt.
 

CursedSoul

Banned
Well I think they differ a lot form person to person.
The way they start for me is usually the heart racing feeling, then it goes into more of grasping for air (kinda choking feeling), trembling, cold sweat on the palms of my hands and forehead. Sometimes I faint, sometimes I get a nose bleed after.
But like I said it really different for everyone and if you're not sure what you're experiencing it could be a good idea to talk to a doctor, to at least confirm your theory, it couldn't hurt.

The symptoms you stated in the begining till the sweating part, they all match....
 

mikebird

Banned
Pain

When I get shocked or scared in any situation; I think it always triggered migraine. Also I've had chest, heartburn and indigestion symptoms which are quite new to me, and I even got myself to hospital because I didn't know how to define it or solve it. It was the first time anyone mentioned the term 'panic attack' in triage, which I didn't recognise, but I do now. Now I never have plenty of Gaviscon in stock. It does the job.

I get Ramipril which is meant to treat high blood pressure. It's now at a low dose. I like that. My heart rate has been between 160 - 200 bpm for years. Yesterday I noticed it was just 120 while going fast on a treadmill for an hour

:D
 

gustavofring

Well-known member
I don't know if I have a Panic Attack, but I do sometimes truly FEAR it if I constantly expect people to enter the kitchen (roommates) when I'm there. I usually want to get out of there asap, whilst I also have sped up heartbeat and a feeling of stress burning in my stomach.
 

CursedSoul

Banned
the speeding heart beat and extra breathing effort may be a part of panic attack symptoms or may be just a doubt
 

johan

Well-known member
i don't have so much physical symptoms but i have like a outer body experience and the feeling that i will die of a direct cause of the situation.
and after the attack i get realy tired like heck.
 
I smelled burnt toast and got dizzy then cold sweat, trembling, fast heart beat etc and the worst is the feeling you have in your head that you are in danger or going to die, especially if it's the first time you're having a panic attack. I have blood pressure problem too and I'm young.
 

cowboyup

Well-known member
They differ from person to person.
For me:
rapid heart beat
sweaty palms, hands
general sweating
blurred vision
fear of dying
suffocation-like feeling
shaking
broken speech
I sometimes cry...?
dizzy or fainting/lightheaded
all around scared feeling
and sometimes if it is really bad, I get sick to my stomach
 

conscious_mindz

Well-known member
I don't know if i have suffered a full blown panic attack yet but i have experienced a rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, cold sweat & shakes
 
My symptoms included tingly feeling in my finger tips, racing heart, a pain in my chest like something squeezing my heart, ears ringing, tunnel vision, gasping for air...and just feeling like there's no way out.
 

JNet

Member
For me, I get kind of hyper aware of my surroundings, start feeling "off", usually start pacing because I KNOW what is coming, I start sweating, and then I get horrible pain in a band around my chest, usually radiating from my back - just under where my bra strap is. Then in comes my brain telling me that this is it, I'm dying, I should go to the hospital, I'm getting my husband to pound my back where it hurts (it feels better that way for some reason) and then....usually within 15 minutes ALL symptoms are gone!! I find that if I repeat some affirmations during the attack (I'm fine, I'm not dying, it's not real, I've been tested and there is nothing wrong with me, this will be over soon ect) and chug a big glass of water it helps.

It sucks, and every time it is still hard to deal with, but my husband knows the drill by now and is a huge help to me, plus I have been checked out many times - EKGs, ultrasounds, blood work, ect so I KNOW that it's not fatal, and that helps a LOT.

There are tons of different symptoms though, it can be totally different for everyone. I'm in Canada, so it doesn't cost me anything to go to Emerg if I am really freaking out and get the tests that ease my mind. If you can, go if you have an attack, the reassurance realllly helped me :) Good luck!
 

Kiwong

Well-known member
Chest tightness, fatigue, dizziness, light headedness, like my feet are being pulled from underneath me. Surges of panic right through my whole body, an inability to breath, my thoughts completely lost in a fear of dying. A certainty that I am going to have a heart attack and die. The first one I had I was incapable of movement I stood there close to collapse. This is it, I am having a heart attack I am going die. It passed and I was still there standing. Aftewards I had to sit down on a side walk, too scared to stand up and walk away unless the feeling came back.
 
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Ithior

Well-known member
I've being doing an introductory course on psychology and it seems this is the following criteria for a panic attack:
Discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in which four or more of the following symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes:
-pounding heart
-sweating
-trembling
-shortness of breath
-feeling of choking
-chest pain
-nausea
-feeling dizzy
-derealisation/depersonalisation (the first is when there's a change in the perception of the external world, for example you feel like people act like robots; the second is like you're a detached observer of your own life, like an out of body experience or living in a dream)
-fear of losing control
-fear of dying
-numbness or tingling in the extremities
-chills or hot flushes

They can happen out of the blue or in exposure to a particular stimulus (or in anticipation of that stimulus). A panic attack is not a disorder in itself, it occurs in the context of other disorders.
 

Sniky

New member
The symptoms of a panic attack can be very frightening and distressing.

Symptoms tend to occur suddenly, without warning and often for no apparent reason.

As well as overwhelming feelings of anxiety, a panic attack can also cause a variety of other symptoms, including:

a sensation that your heart is beating irregularly (palpitations)
sweating
trembling
hot flushes
chills
shortness of breath
a choking sensation
chest pain
nausea
dizziness
feeling faint
numbness or pins and needles
dry mouth
a need to go to the toilet
ringing in your ears
a feeling of dread or a fear of dying
a churning stomach
a tingling sensation in your fingers
shivering
shaking
 

Shepster

New member
Except those things you have mentioned like dizziness, breathing difficulty, cold sweat, heart rate and fear of having heart attack there is also numbness in a leg or hand. I have a feeling I can't move it as long as I think about it. But when I stop thinking I can move it very well.
 
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