difference between anxiety attack and panic attack?

Hi

What is the difference between an anxiety attack and panic attack?

Thanks



Lorraine

I think they are the same thing as far as the biochemicals go. Panic attacks are short lived, half hour or less, often brought on by a situation. Anxiety may be all day.

Panic attacks is just more intense!! Its like anxiety but a 100times worse!

I think they are the same thing - people just call them different names. Either way, they are both horrible!!!

Both thoughts and fear we need to stop the triggers:yesyes:

I have health anxiety and travel anxiety the list goes on, this is more or less 80 per cent of the time when i am tired, or due on, its like general worries but much worse, my panic is when i feel the cold feeling, the doom, the total terror, that lasts minutes at this point in my life, but 5 years ago i could honestly have panic attacks all day to the point i thought i was dying and going mad. No panic helpline helped me a lot, in fact its probably time for me to go back to them lol.

a lot of people give different definitions but for me there is definitely a difference.

regards julie

Anxiety is anxious feelings, Panic attacks are when you have to make the decision between fight or flight, as in run away or stay and fight.

An example is say you are going to the dentist and you are worried about it, you can have anxious feelings for days thinking about it, when you get there them anxious feelings can escalate into a full panic attack where you feel the need to run.

Thats my own personal experience.

di x

I feel that they are different.

In my experience a panic attack is at the top of the anxiety scale..on a range of 1-10 a full blown panic is at the top.

It is a very fine line between feeling very, very scared with the heart thumping and racing, feeling that awful feeling of doom..to me that is very heightened anxiety.

Panic attack I freeze, my legs don't want to work, I can't speak..my mind is completely and totally taken over by the fear and horror that I'm feeling and nothing else.

Maybe it's different for everyone but all the paperwork that I have read seems to point to the actual "attack" itself lasting under an hour as the body cannot produce the vast amounts of adrenaline needed to sustain an attack for longer than that.
Of course adrenaline is produced in the lead up to and after an attack and attacks can come within minutes of each other but it is impossible for them to be continuous apparently.

I have got to be honest, I have wondered about this myself, in fact I think I posted about it once..ages and ages ago.

I have read a lot of posts from people who say they are in the middle of a panic attack and wonder how they can even manage to concentrate themselves physically and mentally enough to sit and type!

I have had only one PA when being on NMP at the time, I was in the chat room talking to someone by PM. I recognised the lead up to the attack but was completely unable to continue my conversation with her until the attack had passed it's peak.

I couldn't have typed if you paid me! I can't be the only one that reacts like this surely?

Thats how it is for me ange, i shake so much during a panic attack i can't pick anything up so i certainly couldn't type.

di x

Every since panic attack 3 motnhs ago because i got ill and my depresonalization/derealization increased. Now i get feeling of fear in my chest for no reason at all and sometimes 15 minutues after eating food and i get other symptoms to after eating food. Like i lose concentration for an hour but then goes back to normal and so on.

What do you think this happens?

I did get deperesonalization/derealization from anxiety when i was smoking very high doses of weed. First time it went away in 2 weeks then i was stupid enough to smoke again and bam it didnt go away i have this for 2.5 years now but i'm like 80% better. Also now i get feeling of intense saddnes and wanting to cry for no reason at all it just comes in waves thru day. It affects my thinking and i think everything is sad even if i know its not. And aalso i feel numb in normal emotions like i'm numb or empty.