How does a panic attack feel to you?

[paulaf]

Recently I have been trying to take note of every sensation I feel when having a panic attack, and wonder if you would be interested in sharing your feelings too. Mine go something like this:

-Situation where I can't escape easily + negative thought / worry about panic
-Heart starts beating fast and I can feel each beat in my chest
-Start getting hotter and feeling a bit sick
-Pins and needles in arms and legs
-feeling goes into tummy and starts churning
-feeling really weak and sick by now
-Feeling of absolute dread / terror / impending disaster
-Urgent need to go to the toilet.

This is how it feels for me, sometimes if I sit it out it subsides. I am trying to break it down so it isn't so scary. :scared15:

[MidnightCalm]

Does your breathing not get affected?
I get a tight chest and I start getting really hot and really fearing and have to move and sometimes I just exit the house and don't stop walking (sometimes it's hard to do that from dizziness).
My chest starts burning up and I feel like I'm on fire.
My stomach churns and I get sort of a gathering of air right below my chest, or it might just be tightness and it just makes everything feel really tight.
I had a bit of one earlier and I am still sweating.
It makes me feel like I need to be sick aswel.
My first reaction is to go to the toilet, I don't know why, I don't even know if I need to urinate I just go anyway.
x

[paulaf]

Hi, yes I totally forgot that one, my breathing gets kind of fast and shallow and sometimes I feel like I'm not getting enough air and I consciously try to slow down my breathing. I wonder if pas feel kind of the same to everyone?

[miss_moose]

If I have an absolute humdinger of a panic attack the symptoms are,

Hyperventilating (Though this doesn't always happen)
Tight chest
Chest pains
Feeling sick
Dry heaving and retching
Stiff jaw
My whole body goes ridged
Shaking uncontrollably
Crying
Light headed
Sometimes heavy head feeling
Feelin faint
Stomach Cramps
Diareah
Stomach does "somersalts"

It sounds so bad when it's written down like that, it amazes me how people still aren't sympathetic.
Recently i've started trying to explain it as Stomach bug symptoms and if you had a stomach bug and yet you still have to go shopping, be with people ect when all you want to do if your that ill is go to bed and be alone.

[PatitoFeo]

This is very interesting for to see because recently I have some 'episodes' I do not understand. Only to read about what panic attack is like, I realise this is one, maybe. Is like:

Shakey
Sense of doom
Feel sick/be sick
Feel like diarrhoea
Faint and tingley, as if I don't have enough blood in my body
Detatched and floaty.
Occasionally actual faint.

[SmithS52]

Hi there - I was only recently diagnosed and I have the following:

rapid heartbeat
difficulty breathing
urgent need to go to the toilet (this can happen repeatedly throughout the 'episode')
extremely hot/cold
legs go weak/feel faint (like I need to lie down)


Over the past few weeks I have managed to control the breathlessness. It is the needing to go to the loo thing that is really starting to bug me now.

I hope this helps.
xx

[sharon35]

yeah all of the above for me also.

xx

[paulaf]

That's interesting, it looks like we all have pretty similar feelings / symptoms. I think the needing the toilet thing is the most bothersome thing too, other symptoms you can talk away but when youve got to go youve got to go!

[shinderuko]

Feeling of being trapped
Panic
Sweating
Shakes
Distorted Vision
Churning Stomach
Nausea
Need to use the toilet

Needing the toilet is the one that I worry most about. If it was just the other symptoms without that one I'd be able to tell myself to ignore it and sit it out.

[paulaf]

Paul don't worry about ignorant people like that, it's them who should be embarrassed for being such horrible creatures, not you :)

[Typer]

Stomach first and a need to rush to the loo

Then a feeling of terror, almost life threatening fear.

Cant talk or swallow

Palpitations (which actually start off the attack in the first place, ironically)

[weeble40]

have a read of this guys, hope it helps

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/panicattack/

Emms x

[bucketofsnakes]

I found mindfulness good, teaches you to control the breathing, get the oxygen in and lots of the symptoms are controlled.
This works really well in early stages when you start to feel the signs, much more difficult during full blown attack.
Jan

[Dahlia]

I'm similar to you all. Starts with a rush of adrenaline and tingly backs of legs. Then I start to feel sick. Then sicker. Occasionally dry heave. Need to go to the loo urgently. Overwhelming sense of needing to get the hell out of wherever I am. Feel trapped, even by things such as jewellery, which I take off.

I have no idea whether my breathing is affected, I'm so petrified of being sick during an attack that is all I can think about.

Dahlia

[julieliverpool]

i get
shortness of breath
sweating
nausea
stupid thoughts
tired
the worst for me is thinking wen im goin to have another 1 cos ive been getting them quite bad lately so im just goin round in circles x

[onceagain]

trapped feeling
stomach churns knotty
throat tight
breathing quick
legs feel trembly
feel like doom is about to happen and that if I run or stand it will be a disaster
pacing trying to get away but no where to go and even if I'm moving I still feel trapped ...
Pain, real physical pain even when I am safe I have actual physical pain.. stomach chest heart
can get tearful
collapse if no resolution

the worse thing though is when I feel it coming I try to be tough... brazen it out and then when it takes a hold boy do I know

Extreme tiredness afterwards unsettled but exhausted... drained, then I go into a feeling of floating like I am there but not...the feelings stay for several days I then become very depressed...

[Blondie23]

does anyone reccommend any tips in controlling the breathing thing and also the tight chest??? xxx

[TanyaLB]

It's impossible to try to explain the feeling I get throughout my whole body right before an attack. It's somewhat of a sick feeling. My heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest, I get cold & clamy and have a very difficult time breathing. My throat closes up which makes it 100x worse because then it gets hard to swallow and that makes the whole attack seem 'deadly' to me. I get very dizzy and faint and feel like the whole world is closing in around me. Depending on if someone is right there with me or not, 9 times out of 10 I DO hyperventilate. Mouth and nose goes numb.....Scariest thing I have experienced in my life.

[TanyaLB]

Blondie23 The suggestion I have for breathing tips is to make sure you are breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. It will help slow your breathing down so you don't hyperventilate. Its hard to remember to breathe like that when everything is going on with your attack.

[little_girl_lost]

Feel trapped, even by things such as jewellery, which I take off.

Its interesting that you say that. I do too, once I get home the first thing I do is take of my glasses, jewellery and tight clothes like jeans etc. I even have to untie my hair.

I thought that one was just me :bighug1:

[tinydancer]

Hi
my 'episodes' dont always escalate into a full panic attack - either due to havign someone with me to talk me down, or taking something!!

i often have

sense of fear/dread...with no real explanation
shallow fast breathing
fidgiting - cant sit still,
inability to concentrate or to think straight
lightheadedness
feeling i cant cope and i need to escape

I tend to feel like there is something building up inside me..like a bottle of lemonade thats been shaken up....and part of me thinks that the only way to make it stop it to 'take off the lid' - which i guess would be to 'give in to the panic' and let a full blown panic attack happen - for me this would include
alot of hyperventilation,
more fear,
hot flushes
feeling like im going to faint,
loss of speach/numbness of face,
shaking
crying!

I do know that this isnt the answer and thankfully the 'full panic attack' has only happened to me a few times, i havent yet mastered bringing myself out of it on my own yet....

still, even a minor spate of anxiety is horrible!

[Reggie256]

Hi all,

For me it starts slowly as a feeling of tension, then I start to feel overwhelmingly tired and often start yawning, then I get a weird sensation in my head like a bit of dizzyness mixed with a light headedness, also get hot and sweaty then my legs go very weak and trembly, finally is the sensation that unless I get out of the situation im in i'm going to either faint or just fall down right there from exhaustion.
Weirdly (and thankfully, no disrespect meant) Ive never had the loo thing or hyperventilation/breathing trouble.
These symptoms will often pass in seconds if I do escape the situation im in.

Im on Citalopram which had no effect at 20mg so 2 weeks ago I was put up to 30mg so due to the increase these symptoms are now back again!!

But Hey ho,
Oh and plus im getting married in 3 weeks which I'm Half looking forward to and half dreading.
Any tips??? :wacko:
Didnt mean to hijack thi thread with that last comment so will be happy to start new one if people want.

[chatterbox]

Most of the above plus distorted vision which some people dont seem to have

[Dean 2200]

I used to get panic attacks so bad where I'd be on the floor shaking and i couldn't stand up. My heart would be racing, faster breathing. And i was also convinced i was about to die/have a heart attack. I was lucky enough to kill panic attacks after listening to a few audio tracks on theory about them. It's mind-blowing how much we control panic attacks though. If we laugh at them and embrace them, they die because they live off our fear. It's easier said than done when you get bad symptoms, but if you can convince yourself your at no harm and panic attacks are weak and fueled by you, you'll beat them forever.

[Lauren_T]

Inability to think straight
Crying
Wanting to escape
Shaking
Racing thoughts
A 'heavy' kind of feeling
Shaking

they're the ones that happen most of the time but it can be a mixture of those and others.

[Pinkangels]

Mine goes something like this:

Feeling trapped
Hot flush
Shortness of breath
Feel like I'm unable to focus properly
Lightheaded
Massive fear I'm about to faint
Rapid heartbeat
Unable to concentrate
Fidgety
GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!

[IDontFeelStrong]

rapid heartbeat
difficulty breathing
urgent need to go to the toilet (this can happen repeatedly throughout the 'episode').. ..It is the needing to go to the loo thing...

Thank you SmithS52, this is really helpful.. because over the past few months my panic attacks have been getting worse. I spent two hours and forty-five minutes in the early hours of Monday morning vomitting, dry-wretching and having toilet problems.. This is the bit that has caught me off guard, but is now starting to make more logical sense with a myriad of other symptoms because I started with seemingly innocuous stomach cramps that I put down to a bit of tension, but then the churning got more intense and I started feeling very feint and nauseus, until I was shaking and couldn't orientate myself in my surroundings. I am fortuante that because I am also diagnosed with another long-term physical illness means my home has grab rails, which saved my life this morning because I fell to the ground so many times and managed to keep myself from hitting my head.

[ChrisK]

Chest tightness
Wave of pressure
Diarrhea
electrocuting pain.
Stomach grumbling (can be quite embarrassing in front of people, makes me more anxious)
Feeling that death is just around the corner

[Freesolo]

hot/cold flashes
feeling of dread
palpatations
feeling very weird like in a dream
feeling like im trapped and have to escape
feeling that im going to embarass myself
feel like im going crazy
scared that it will never end

[iamspartacus]

head feels 'switched on'

flashes of burning adrenaline running from neck, down arms and legs

cant sit still, need to pace but feel tired while pacing, so want to sit down again

terror and fear

feeling 'alien' in even the safest surroundings

feeling like youre going to fall of a cliff edge

rocking while sitting

feeling like you want to jump out of your skin

cant tolerate bright light or loud sounds

chest tightens and cant get breath

feeling so vulnerable that people will see right through me and absolutely know im crazy

pouring with sweat

not knowing where to put yourself

wondering why those around me can be so calm and not immediately rush to my aid

pins and needles in hands and feet

burning arms and legs

seeing bright spots of light and things shimmering

need to get out of wherever i am

dry retching

unable to be distracted

muscle tension

chest pains

palms of hands and soles of feet sweating or very cold

pains in kidney area

dry mouth

tongue goes numb

teeth hurt

face goes pale and numb

pupils constrict

feeling of inner tension

cant face food

incessant need to find relief at any cost

feel like no-one can understand how this feels

higher pitched voice

cant think straight

head pressure