Are these panic attacks or something else?

[roseelf]

Hello,

I'm 15 years old and every morning before I leave for school and whilst I'm at school I'm having what I think are panic attacks. It started off a few months ago, I'd just become breathless and constantly yawn, but on the last week of school I felt faint/dizzy when I was walking around. On the very last day of school I was sitting in an assembly and began to feel breathless, only this time I couldn't catch my breath, my heart began to pound, I also began to shake, feel hot, my hands started to sweat and I thought I was going to pass out. When the assembly was over I was sent home and I thought that was it. Throughout the summer holidays I hardly left my house due to constant dizziness/unsteadiness but I didn't have any panic attacks, then I had to go back to school which terrified me but for some reason for the first week of school I was perfectly fine, no dizziness or panic attacks. Then, on the second week I began having daily panic attacks, the same symptoms but worse, they start when I wake up and continue throughout the school day and when I get home. I can't go into assemblies anymore and have to sit outside due to panic, I've even missed a few classes before which is bad because this year is my most important year at school. I've also had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep leaving me tired all day.

I was just wondering if these are panic attacks or if I'm actually sick because I also suffer from health anxiety so I've been googling my symptoms like crazy, the symptom I'm most afraid of is the dizziness as it has prevented me from doing things I'd usually do. Also, if anyone could give me advice on how to deal with them I'd appreciate it because I have no idea what to do and my parents refuse to take me to the doctors.

Thank you so much if you read all of that. :)

[ohwell123]

hi you should always get checked out with a doctor but could be a generalised anxiety disorder this is usually starts off with one major worrying incident that bothers you afterwards for a while you kind of get over that incident but then the anxiety grows like damp in an old 1920's house and cripples you everywhere you go you will probably find you are waking up in a worried state and telling your body something wrong is going to happen that day then you feel bad the whole day but nothing bad ever happens youll also suffer from very real symptoms that can cause more worry ontop of the original worry you should go to your docs and over time you will feel better

[Tanner40]

Rose elf, I'm no doctor but it sure sounds like panic attacks to me. I've had this issue for many years, and sometimes it occurs in large groups of people or places where I feel like it's harder to escape from.
Have you tried anything to help the anxiety or the fears that you're experiencing. I have found that CBT has been very helpful for me in similar situations. It's important that I identify my irrational thoughts that consciously or subconsciously are leading me to this point. The more that I practiced CBT, the easier it became to recognize that my symptoms were all directly related to anxiety
Give it a try and see what you think. It takes some work but it is well worth it.