This question is for people who have PANIC ATTACKS......?

Question

What is usually the first symptom you get when a panic attack is about to start? And which ones do you usually get throughout the entire thing?

Answer 1

It depends, for me.

Sometimes my attacks have the classic symptoms... my heart races and my mind races just as fast at the same time. My whole body starts to feel vaguely uncomfortable in ways I can't quite pinpoint. My breathing gets short, or I just think it is, so sometimes I have hyper-ventilated.

Once in a while I just get a weird feeling of impending doom, like my whole body is just going to stop working all of a sudden or something terrible is about to happen. Often that feeling passes without turning into a full-blown attack.

When I do have full attacks, shortness of breath (or imagining I cannot breathe) usually last throughout the attack. So does a general feeling of panic (not surprisingly) that often manifests with shaky hands and makes my whole body feel a bit off.

Recently, I have been seeing a therapist instead of a psychiatrist and I stopped taking anxiety meds, as they didn't seem to be working for me. But exercises in grounding myself in the present and talking myself down seem to help considerably.

Answer 2

OK, as someone who is fresh off medication for anxiety and panic disorders, let me take a crack at this: A fair few of the symptoms could be either, but all of them could be panic attacks. However, here are a few things which could help you determine which: Do these start after you've been thinking about your health, and wondering if you are OK. Panic attacks normally start with a thought, and build up based on it. Are you mentally confused at all during them? When I had panic attacks, I was never able to sit still. I would try to calm down and breath normally, but the slightest thing would set me off and I'd have to move. Does the shaking happen usually after things start to calm down. Your body produces a huge amount of adrenaline during a panic attack, and coming down off that causes shaking for people who have had panic attacks. If you really try had, and breath slowly and normally, and try to clear your mind, does this help it go away? Does the headache come after as well? I often got them from the physical exertion, which is usually quite extreme during a panic attack. I hope this helps...

Answer 3

Shortness of breath is my most common symptom. I was confusing panic attacks for asthma attacks for a while. And using my inhaler and wondering why it didn't help. Though eventually the feeling would pass on it's own. Generally within 15 minutes.

A person experiencing a panic attack may believe that he or she is having a heart attack or that death is imminent. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms:

“Racing” heart
Feeling weak, faint, or dizzy
Tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers
Sense of terror, of impending doom or death
Feeling sweaty or having chills
Chest pains
Breathing difficulties
Feeling a loss of control

People who have had one panic attack are at greater risk for having subsequent panic attacks than those who have never experienced a panic attack. When the attacks occur repeatedly, a person is considered to have a condition known as Panic Disorder.

Answer 4

Panic attacks are sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. These episodes can occur at any time, even during sleep. A person experiencing a panic attack may believe that he or she is having a heart attack or that death is imminent. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms:

“Racing” heart
Feeling weak, faint, or dizzy
Tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers
Sense of terror, of impending doom or death
Feeling sweaty or having chills
Chest pains
Breathing difficulties
Feeling a loss of control


Panic attacks are generally brief, lasting less than ten minutes, although some of the symptoms may persist for a longer time. People who have had one panic attack are at greater risk for having subsequent panic attacks than those who have never experienced a panic attack. When the attacks occur repeatedly, a person is considered to have a condition known as Panic Disorder.

People with panic disorder may be extremely anxious and fearful, since they are unable to predict when the next episode will occur. Panic Disorder is fairly common and affects about 2.4 million people in the U.S., or 1.7% of the adult population between the ages of 18 and 54. Women are twice as likely as men to develop the condition, and its symptoms usually begin in early adulthood.

It is not clear what causes Panic Disorder. In many people, its symptoms develop in association with major life changes (such as getting married, having a child, starting a first job, etc.) and major lifestyle stressors. There is also some evidence that suggests that the tendency to develop Panic Disorder may run in families. People who suffer from Panic Disorder are also more likely than others to suffer from depression, attempt suicide, or to abuse alcohol or drugs.

Luckily for sufferers of frequent panic attacks, Panic Disorder is a treatable condition. Psychotherapy and medications have both been used, either singly or in combination, for successful treatment of Panic Disorder. If medication is necessary, your doctor may prescribe anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants, or a class of heart medications known as beta blockers to help control the episodes in Panic Disorder.

Answer 5

I'm not sure what the most comon sympton is. I know loosing track of time happens to some people. As for myself I get a "Speed Effect" (that's what I call it). Where I rush around and worrie, this leads to pannic!
You should talk to your doctor, there are some very good medication you can get now. Xanax is what I recommend, works very to calm you down and relax.

Answer 6

feeling closed in shortness of breath like you cant breath best thing to do is remove yourself from the cause of stess try and breathe use brown paper bag if neccessry take it easy

Answer 7

first i start to sweat alot and my stomach begins to bother me. I try my best to put my mind on something relaxing like going to the beach in the bahamas and chillin.

Answer 8

my stomach acts up I just try to remain calm or just sit for a min