What are Panic Attacks?
Disclaimer: I am not a professional, the following information is from my own research and experience with panic attacks.
“A panic attack is pathological exaggeration of the body’s normal response to fear, stress or excitement.”
― Abhijit Naskar
Have you ever been hit by a sudden, intense, lightning bolt of panic, seemingly out of nowhere?
You experience a strange piercing feeling in your gut, you feel like you were punched in the chest, you have a strange tingling sensation in your hands and feet, your breathing quickens and your heart feels like it is beating at a million miles an hour. Maybe you start to hyperventilate, sometimes until you faint.
Then you wake up into a state of complete exhaustion, greeted by a piercing headache. And sometimes you are greeted by another attack.
Experiences of panic attacks can vary, but that is what I usually experience. But there is usually a sudden feeling of terror, the feeling that something awful is about to happen, accompanied by strong physical symptoms like the ones described above.
If you haven’t had one you may think that I’m exaggerating when I compare the sense of panic to a car crash or mugging but when I’m experiencing a panic attack, the physical symptoms make me think I’m dying and the panic makes me feel like I’m about to be murdered. If you have never had one, you probably think it’s just a panic attack.
Many people have went to call for an ambulance when they saw me having a panic attack and I have heard of several people who were brought to the hospital or went after their attack because they were convinced that it was a heart attack. That is how painful and terrifying they can be.
Even after having a countless number of panic attacks over the past few years I still get that 100%. Even though I was having several panic attacks every day for the last couple of years I still have to remind myself that I'm not dying, every single time.
I've heard people compare anxiety to the feeling you get when you miss a step on the stairs and your stomach lurches but for a prolonged period of time. In that case, panic attacks feel like you've been pushed down the stairs and out of a third-story window.
It's a short burst of undiluted terror.
It's like you're being attacked by something you cannot see, fight or escape from.
“Panic attacks are a lot like being drunk in some ways, you lose self-control. You cry for seemingly no reason. You deal with the hangover long into the next day.”
― Sara Barnard, A Quiet Kind of Thunder
Panic disorder is different from anxiety disorders and so panic attacks differ from anxiety attacks. I hope to write a more detailed post about the differences between anxiety attacks and panic attacks in the future but the main distinction is that they are unpredictable. They occur without warning or reason. You could be walking down the street, sitting in class, lying in bed - it doesn't matter.
This level of panic would be normal in situations like a car crash or a burglary but with a panic disorder, the feeling of panic is misplaced.
A panic attack is different from 'normal' panic:
1. The feelings are a lot stronger.
2. The feelings usually last longer than a few minutes.
3. The feelings seem to come out of nowhere and are not usually related to the sort of situations I described above.
Although you may feel like you are dying or having a heart attack it is important to remember that panic attacks are not dangerous. You are not going to die. You are not in danger. I guess you could say that these have become my panic attack mantras.
I may hyperventilate, cry, vomit or faint, but I get back up again. And when you get back up every day you’ll notice that you start to get knocked down a lot less.
Sometimes they’ll increase. Sometimes they’ll seem worse than ever but you have to keep getting back up and you have to keep going outside.
You may never live a life free from panic but you deserve a life that isn’t ruled by it.
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“A panic attack is pathological exaggeration of the body’s normal response to fear, stress or excitement.”
― Abhijit Naskar
Have you ever been hit by a sudden, intense, lightning bolt of panic, seemingly out of nowhere?
You experience a strange piercing feeling in your gut, you feel like you were punched in the chest, you have a strange tingling sensation in your hands and feet, your breathing quickens and your heart feels like it is beating at a million miles an hour. Maybe you start to hyperventilate, sometimes until you faint.
Then you wake up into a state of complete exhaustion, greeted by a piercing headache. And sometimes you are greeted by another attack.
Experiences of panic attacks can vary, but that is what I usually experience. But there is usually a sudden feeling of terror, the feeling that something awful is about to happen, accompanied by strong physical symptoms like the ones described above.
If you haven’t had one you may think that I’m exaggerating when I compare the sense of panic to a car crash or mugging but when I’m experiencing a panic attack, the physical symptoms make me think I’m dying and the panic makes me feel like I’m about to be murdered. If you have never had one, you probably think it’s just a panic attack.
Many people have went to call for an ambulance when they saw me having a panic attack and I have heard of several people who were brought to the hospital or went after their attack because they were convinced that it was a heart attack. That is how painful and terrifying they can be.
Even after having a countless number of panic attacks over the past few years I still get that 100%. Even though I was having several panic attacks every day for the last couple of years I still have to remind myself that I'm not dying, every single time.
I've heard people compare anxiety to the feeling you get when you miss a step on the stairs and your stomach lurches but for a prolonged period of time. In that case, panic attacks feel like you've been pushed down the stairs and out of a third-story window.
It's a short burst of undiluted terror.
It's like you're being attacked by something you cannot see, fight or escape from.
“Panic attacks are a lot like being drunk in some ways, you lose self-control. You cry for seemingly no reason. You deal with the hangover long into the next day.”
― Sara Barnard, A Quiet Kind of Thunder
WHAT TRIGGERS A PANIC ATTACK?
Well, it’s not really that simple.Panic disorder is different from anxiety disorders and so panic attacks differ from anxiety attacks. I hope to write a more detailed post about the differences between anxiety attacks and panic attacks in the future but the main distinction is that they are unpredictable. They occur without warning or reason. You could be walking down the street, sitting in class, lying in bed - it doesn't matter.
This level of panic would be normal in situations like a car crash or a burglary but with a panic disorder, the feeling of panic is misplaced.
A panic attack is different from 'normal' panic:
1. The feelings are a lot stronger.
2. The feelings usually last longer than a few minutes.
3. The feelings seem to come out of nowhere and are not usually related to the sort of situations I described above.
Although you may feel like you are dying or having a heart attack it is important to remember that panic attacks are not dangerous. You are not going to die. You are not in danger. I guess you could say that these have become my panic attack mantras.
I may hyperventilate, cry, vomit or faint, but I get back up again. And when you get back up every day you’ll notice that you start to get knocked down a lot less.
Sometimes they’ll increase. Sometimes they’ll seem worse than ever but you have to keep getting back up and you have to keep going outside.
You may never live a life free from panic but you deserve a life that isn’t ruled by it.
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Thanks for sharing Amber x
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