What Does a Panic Attack Feel Like?

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What does a panic attack feel like?  Frightening is the first word that comes to mind for most people when asked to describe their first panic attack.  Unless you have the good fortune to be medically trained, panic attack symptoms will probably leave you convinced that you are on the verge of some kind of break down or in the throes of your first heart attack.

The signs and symptoms of panic attacks can vary dramatically from one person to another but you can pick from a long list that include a racing heart beat, palpitations or heart flutters, dizziness or feeling faint, shaking or trembling, hot flushes, cold sweats, blurred vision, tingling or pins and needles in your extremities as well as nausea.

The most alarming aspect of it all is that anxiety and panic attacks can come out of nowhere and seem to happen for no apparent reason.

It is little wonder that we are convinced that we are experiencing the symptoms of some dreadful life threatening condition but be reassured; a heart attack does not leave you capable of thinking rationally and the symptoms are actually quite different to a panic attack.

So why do doctors invariably reach for the stethoscope, blood pressure monitor and the E.C.G. when confronted with these symptoms.  The simplest explanation is that they need to check that all is well and that there is no underlying physical condition.  Doctors are by nature cautious; it’s their job, so they will always check out your heart if you have experienced palpitations or an unexpectedly fast heart rate.

They also know that one of the most important first steps in treating the symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety is to rule out serious illness as this reassures the patient and helps them on the first step to overcoming their anxiety and panic disorder.

The difficulty when you have had a panic attack is that it is very difficult to be reassured that there is nothing wrong with you.  Many people stay convinced that they are chronically unwell despite any number of tests and results that show them to be perfectly healthy.  That is the nature of an anxiety or panic disorder; the mere fear of a second panic attack can actually be so great that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, triggering the onset of your next attack.

The first step on the road to recovery is to accept that there is nothing physically wrong with you and also to accept that a panic attack cannot harm you.  The rather perverse thing about this situation is that once you have experienced several attacks, and survived them unscathed, you begin to realise that, frightening as they are they do not actually do you any damage.

You are still alive, life has not stopped, you have not gone mad or become seriously ill so why be afraid of another attack?

I know it sounds simple, perhaps over simple but understanding that panic attacks are harmless is the first step towards overcoming them.