What would you class as a panic attack?

[Keep going]

Hi, just want to know what situations, symptoms you class as a panic attack. Trying to work out if im having them again due to work related stress.

Keep going:yesyes:

[Baggie]

Hi there

When I had my first panic attack almost 2 years ago, this is how it felt for me :

1. Really hot feeling all over. Felt quite agitated but couldn't understand why!
2. Found it hard to breathe.
3. An overwhelming urge to run away (it happened to me while standing in a supermarket queue) - which I eventually did, dumping my shopping.:blush:
4. Heart started racing, felt palpitations.

Hope that this helps. Take care x

[bellalew]

:ohmy:my panic attacks start with,a rapid hydrenaline rush,then palpatations, feeling faint,clammy,breathlesness,uncontrolable shakes,confusion,feeling petrfied.the box on the left will give some insight for you hun as well.xx

[shaun78]

mine was pretty much the same as baggie, but i was on a train,started sweating and shaking thought i was going to pass out(which my doctor assures me you cant) and an intense feeling of wanting to escape. good luck

[melvin]

its funny i have just read the last 2 post iv always thought id gotten over pan attacks has my symptoms are nowhere has bad as a couple of yrs ago but reading the post i suppose im still getting them most days i e feel nervous pending doom feel like im not happy cant think straight etc etc

[Ella_Jayne]

Mine vary. My first one started with heart palps, feeling dizzy and faint, felt like I needed to runaway.

Today I had one where I felt dizzy (I've been feeling dizzy for days) and then I got really hot everywhere, my throat and chest tightened I felt so weak. Checked my pulse and it was racing, my stomach felt very tense.

Sometimes I get a surge of adrenaline which almost takes my breath away, then I panic and along come all the other symptoms. I think panic attacks vary for people but usually have the same sort of symptoms just in different order.

[ladybird64]

If memory serves me right I asked a similar question at some point last year.

My own personal experience of panic attacks are different to what I would class as very heightened anxiety state. With anxiety there are the shakes and the impending feeling of doom and my mind races alongside an increased pulse rate. I am very nervous and agitated but am capable of thinking just a little bit.

When I have had panic attacks it is a whole different ball game. I am rooted to the spot unable to move and it feels like there is lightening coursing through my body. My only thoughts are of the outside world around me closing in and the immediate desperate need to get the hell away, to somewhere safe. I want to run but can't move and when I do move I have awful shaking and "jelly legs" that feel like they are going to give way.

I was curious about this as I have read many posts from people that say they are having constant panic attacks that last for hours at a time but I'm sure that I read somewhere that this is impossible. Apparently the body can only sustain such a level of adrenaline surge for about 20-40 mins..after reaching a crescendo it has to fall after a certain time period.

I don't know for sure, I know that I have gone through my panics and out the other side (:scared15:!) and it has lasted approx 20-30mins. I do realise though that they can return very quickly, mine came back within 10 mins of the original one..that was a fun day! :lac:

Im curious to know what other's experiences are and if it is possible to manage to talk, type etc while in the throes of a PA, I always assumed it wasn't because of my experiences.

I hope that you get enough info to help you decide whats going on at work Keep Going..good luck to you with whatever it is. :)

[Keep going]

Hi thanks for the posts :yesyes: To be honest i have the exact symptoms as most people on here. Seem to be getting worse at the moment after i was doing so well. They seem to be related to work stress. But im getting a lot of panic attacks driving my car at the moment and i don't think me having alot of neck pain is helping them.

I don't think ive addressed panic attacks as such, but i have addressed anxiety symptoms. Any tips on stopping panic attacks?

[jothenurse]

As Dr. Weekes says - don't add the second fear. You'll feel the first fear, but if you can float through it, don't add any second fear of , "Oh, no. What if. " That should help. Easier said then done though. There are some days that I feel the anxiety most of the day - may not be all the way to a panic, but like mini-panicky feelings on and off.

[pd]

My heart beats hard and fast. I can feel adrenaline rushes, one after another. I can't breathe, I hyperventilate. I feel dizzy, wobbly, shakey, and like I'm about to pass out. I feel an overwhelming need to 'get away', fight or flight response I guess, but unfortunately what I most want to get away from is my own body. My thoughts race, my mouth feels dry, I sweat, I feel like I'm choking. I feel sick. I am so, so certain that I'm dying. In the end I begin to wish that I would just drop dead so I didn't have to feel like this anymore. It generally lasts 10 minutes - 40 minutes, but has lasted up to two hours in exceptional circumstances. Afterwards I feel exhausted, and on edge for the next 24-48 hours.

Fortunately, this doesn't happen very frequently these days.

[jothenurse]

Does anyone feel the anxiety most of the time? I sometimes in the evenings can feel a little more relaxed, but pretty much feel tension/anxiety/mini-panicky feelings throughout the day.

[onceagain]

Mine hits from no where, I get knotty stomach as normal and then my legs become shaky, it feels as if my throat is closing and my heart races.. I want to run away I feel as if I have all this energy searing through me.. my breathing is quick and I cannot seem to slow it down.. it is the most dreadful feeling I've had ... I too am absolutely exhausted afterwards and generally feel very low about things for a few days.

[RichW]

Mine hits from no where, I get knotty stomach as normal and then my legs become shaky, it feels as if my throat is closing and my heart races.. I want to run away I feel as if I have all this energy searing through me.. my breathing is quick and I cannot seem to slow it down.. it is the most dreadful feeling I've had ... I too am absolutely exhausted afterwards and generally feel very low about things for a few days.

Ditto. Trembling limbs, shortness of breath, an overwhelming sense of fear (of dying mostly), feeling like I'm going to pass out or my heads going to explode, racing heart, sweaty palms and soles of my feet, uncontrollable thoughts. God I wish I never knew any of this. :scared15:

[Keep going]

Does anyone feel the anxiety most of the time? I sometimes in the evenings can feel a little more relaxed, but pretty much feel tension/anxiety/mini-panicky feelings throughout the day.

Had that all my life, only thing i find that works too reduce it is CBT, relaxation and exercise.

[jothenurse]

Thanks. I have some books on CBT that I am working on - and I try to get some exercise. I think I need to try some meditation. Do you know of any good meditation techniques?

[Keep going]

Thanks. I have some books on CBT that I am working on - and I try to get some exercise. I think I need to try some meditation. Do you know of any good meditation techniques?

Not tried meditation myself, i like the relaxing cd's. They seem to work for me, as long as like the person who is doing them.

[helluvafella]

I feel like I am whizzing - I go dizzy - I start breathing fast. In - two - three - out - two three - works for me.

Eta - you never know when it is coming - I had it last night the minute I put my head on the pillow. Had had in-laws all day and it must have really stressed me without me knowing. Also had it the minute I walked into work when a customer came straight in my face the minute I walked through the door - I had to walk away from her staggering like a drunk lol!

Had it so long it doesnt scare me anymore, I know what it is.