What are panic attacks like for you??

khanhberlake_92 said:

My vision get blurred when im around people too.
And the feeling of being sick and not being able to eat, I think they re signs of depression. I have them sometimes

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I think that can come from anxiety, too. I have a friend who is Bipolar and she has major anxiety problems and it makes her feel sick and unable to eat. She's not really depressed, though. Everything manifests differently in different people.

Luthien said:

Yea, see, that's the sort of thing that makes me think I don't actually have panic attacks! Because I can't really relate to that at all. I've never thought I was having a heart attack... Maybe it's because I'm only 25, but the thought never crossed my mind that I COULD have one... It's so bizarre because every doctor I've talked to in the last year and a half ASSURES me that I am having panic attacks, but nothing I ever read about them is applicable....

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From what I remember being told, there is no set criteria for panic attacks. People can have them in different ways, just read this thread and you'll see the wide range of symptoms people have.

philly2bits said:

From what I remember being told, there is no set criteria for panic attacks. People can have them in different ways, just read this thread and you'll see the wide range of symptoms people have.

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Right, and that's why I started the thread! But the thing is, if I want to read about panic attacks and help for them anywhere online or in books, there IS a set criteria! It seems like everyone writes about this one kind of panic attack, even though there are so many... It's not very helpful to me.

Luthien said:

Right, and that's why I started the thread! But the thing is, if I want to read about panic attacks and help for them anywhere online or in books, there IS a set criteria! It seems like everyone writes about this one kind of panic attack, even though there are so many... It's not very helpful to me.

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It was the same with me when I was having them. The books did nothing to help. It came down to my doctor saying that If I think it's a panic attack, and it feels like previous ones, then it most likely is a panic attack. This was after he ruled any other medical conditions though.

philly2bits said:

It was the same with me when I was having them. The books did nothing to help. It came down to my doctor saying that If I think it's a panic attack, and it feels like previous ones, then it most likely is a panic attack. This was after he ruled any other medical conditions though.

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It's really odd. I guess it doesn't matter what it's CALLED it's still crappy. I have definitely gotten a lot better since this all started, since I rarely have them anymore. But I was really curious to hear other people's experiences, I needed to know if everyone had "textbook" panic attacks or if it really was so varied, so this thread has helped me in my understanding of it all.

Horrible.

I start to think I'm having a heart attack. Generally because it gets really hard for me to breathe when I'm having an attack. Also, sometimes the left of my chest has sharp pains that last from 5 - 25 minutes.

Get shaky, sweaty, light headed, nervous (obviously, lol), 'gotta get out' type feeling

Only had one ECG or EKG (what's the difference?) after getting sent to the emergency room after my first attack. They said I was fine, though they didn't really seem to be paying attention.

I'm hoping there are others with simialr symptoms to mine so I can stop worrying so much.

Oh, yeah, My grandad had a panic attack earlier this year, so that doesn't help me to not worry. I also seldom exercise, little overweight (BMI-wise), and have very little social interaction. Which are apparently risk factors.

Okay, I'll shut up now .

-Aidan.

I've only had panic attacks a couple of times but it felt like I was almost gasping for air and could not breath. I starting sweating and thought my heart was gonna explode and have a heart attack. It was a very scary deal. I got on xanax soon after so that if anxiety ever got close to feeling intense enough that a panic attack was possible I could take those to prevent it.

I've only had 1 full blown panic attack. I heard my heartbeat in my ear at first, and then the intense dread feeling came on. It was this horrible, tingly panic, my heart was really loud. I got really bad tunnel vision, and shook around horribly. I went to my mom (it was like 2am) and told her I was dying lol, call an ambulance! She of course told me it was a panic attack but I still thought I was dying, no way panic attacks were that bad! So I lay next to her and shook violently for the next 30 minutes, just thinking "I'm going to die". I thought I was having a seizure or heartattack. Lucky i've only had one! (and another when I was too stoned..)

khanhberlake_92 said:

My vision get blurred when im around people too.
And the feeling of being sick and not being able to eat, I think they re signs of depression. I have them sometimes

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Loss of appetite is a clear symptom of depression, but feeling sick or not being able to keep food down could well be a symptom of GAD, or any anxiety disorder.

I get that very frequently, it'll get to a stage when I can feel sick from even drinking sips of water. Panic attack wise, I'll get very hot, I'll start to sweat noticably (fairly often profusely), feel very nauseas/often throw up sometimes more than once, get an incredibly dry mouth and find it hard to focus. I'll get a little short of breath, too. Fortunately I've never felt like I'd have a heart attack. Saying that, I'm taking propanolol which is a beta blocker, so that can help anything like that.

My hands and feet are drenched in sweat, I shake uncontrollably, I feel like I'm going to die, my mind races and I get strange thoughts such as "am I in reality?" My heart beats really fast, I can't sit still, and I get a huge adrenaline rush.

spider04 said:

I never had real panic attacks

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me to but there is one think i hope you understand itIf im to long in a place like bus and people are watching me for 1houre i get really tired and want leave the place...

i remember my first panic attack.

i was 16 i think...i remember feeling lightheaded, dizzy, nauseated. the world around me looked different somehow, unreal perhaps. my head became flooded with thoughts and i couldn't calm down...cotton mouth, nausea, all sorts of bad feelings.

at this point i'd never heard of anxiety disorders or panic attacks or anything...i thought i was going to die and i felt that i couldn't talk to anyone...i didn't know what was happening to me...i thought i was losing my grip on reality or something. it was the most terrifying experience of my life.

EDIT: and i almost forgot! i finally passed out after awhile of lying on my bed waiting to die...and when i woke up the next morning, the panic resumed right where it left off. fun times!