Continuing with the subject of anxiety, I wanted to talk about what panic attack actually feels like for anyone who is trying to figure out if that’s what they just had or for someone, who knows people with panic disorder.
As always, keep in mind that everybody is different, so someone else’s panic attack might feel completely different from mine or only resemble parts of it. For a complete list of signs of a panic attack, please visit a verified medical page. I will link a few useful sites down below for you to check out.
Without further ado, let’s jump right into it. This is how I usually feel during a panic attack:
It all starts with a faint tightness in the chest, like someone is squeezing my lungs and no matter how deep I breathe, I strongly feel the lack of oxygen. At this point I’m also starting to feel a little bit nauseous, but that’s mostly out of fear because I’ve realized that I’m about to have a panic attack.
Then, as it progresses, shortness of breath gets stronger. You know this feeling on a hot day, that there is not enough oxygen in the air, and you keep breathing deep and rapid, but still feel like your organs and muscles only get about half of what they need. This is exactly what happens to me. I start breathing inconsistently because on one hand I feel like I’m suffocating and on the other I’m trying to calm myself down, so the breathing pattern just goes out of control.
The heart starts beating either too fast or too strong. When I had a panic attack for the first time, I honestly thought that I was dying. It felt like my heart was going at the same rate, but with so much more power. It felt abnormal. It was frightening. Although after a while, as you start realizing that even though it’s scary, it’s actually a very normal feeling for anxiety, it doesn’t freak you out that much.
Because my heart is beating so fast, I can hear it loudly in my ears. It starts to be very hard to pay attention to what people are saying to me.
Hyperventilation causes dizziness. My legs are starting to feel weak, like a wave of numbness. Slowly this feeling takes over my body, making me sink to the floor and making my hands tremble. The best way I can describe it (really) is turning into a stuffed toy. As if all of my limbs were filled with cotton, dulling the feelings and making it harder to move. Another way to describe it is as you are trying to move your arm, your muscles respond with only 40% of their capacity. And you are trying to force them to be faster and stronger, but you can’t.
I get a cold sweat – when it’s so hot that you are sweating, but for some reason can’t stop shivering and really want to wrap yourself in a blanket. Very confusing feeling.
If my panic attack is strong enough, I feel what can best be described as “illusion of fainting”. Remember that stuffed toy feeling in the body? That worsens and on top of that, my head begins to feel very hot and heavy as if all of my body’s blood rushed up to it. The vision blurs, sometimes I can’t see anything but complete darkness. This is very similar to when you get up too fast, only much stronger. At this point, I would immediately drop to the floor, because I believe I’m about to pass out. This is ridiculous, because I know for a fact that it’s one of the signs of a panic attack and it’s also normal, but this head heaviness, blurred vision and light “numbed” tingling in my limbs would keep getting stronger and stronger, beyond the level, when you think “That’s it, I can’t take it”. Trust me, it’s safer to just lay on the floor – the feeling will go away almost instantly.
All of those physical stuff is accompanied by a strong feeling of terror. Imagine that there is a big dog in front of you. It is very aggressive and is looking right at you. At that moment you will feel this instant panic for your life. Extend it for 20 minutes and you get a panic attack. Literally just fear for your life, nothing more.
Fight or flight. This I actually don’t get unless I’m bothered, so if I’m with my husband, alone or near a doctor, I would most likely be fine just where I am. Just waiting for it to pass. But when I’m with someone who doesn’t know how to behave with an anxious person, I get a strong urge to run away. I would still call it “fight or flight”, because if it comes to it, I probably would actually punch someone, but since I’m naturally fearful and not very brave, my instinct is always to simply run away.
If you ask me to describe a panic attack with just one sentence, I would probably say: “It feels like you’re dying”. It has the worst parts of terror, loss of control, physically scary and painful sensations, the feeling of being cornered, pressured and helpless. It is awful. And, honestly, I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, even someone I hate. So please, be aware of people around you and most importantly be patient, because most of the emotional struggles actually come from peer pressure and stress.
I really hope I could shed some light on to what a panic attack vaguely feels like. And if you are reading this and freaking out, because all of this seems like too much to take but you might have a panic disorder, do not worry. Panic attacks are not pleasant, but they are manageable. And with proper help and support system, sometimes you might even forget that it is there.
Things I didn't know about panic disorders
Things I didn't know about panic disorders
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