Am I Having A Panic Attack?

Is this a panic attack? If you are asking this question then you probably are painfully aware of a certain experience. Nothing unusual is happening; Things are going along as usual. Then without warning, your sense of normalcy shifts drastically!

Your heart begins racing, and every beat, every flutter, is magnified. Breathing becomes difficult, maybe with a feeling of suffocation, and your knees turn to rubber. People's faces recede, the world around you becoming frightening. There is only you and this dire crisis. You feel you are having a heart attack, or you are suddenly losing your sanity, and the impression of impending doom is overwhelming. A driving necessity to get immediate assistance overrides everything else, and the thoughts that echo in your mind are, "I think I am dying!"

In my case, I was at a reunion dinner...a cheerful occasion. Just as the waiter began to bring our lovely food, things started to feel unreal and I felt myself detaching from my surroundings. In the span of the next horrific 5 minutes, I experienced all I just described. Within 15 minutes we were on our way to the emergency room. I was sure we would not make it.

They injected me with a calming drug and before long I was back to my usual self, relieved I was alive, but wondering how such a thing could happen to me. Irrationally, I felt ashamed and humiliated for creating a "spectacle" at the dinner. I didn't want anyone to know I had only had "just" a panic attack.

Just a panic attack? No one who has suffered through this nightmare would ever refer to one of these events as just a panic attack. They are utterly incapacitating and terrifying. What characterizes a panic attack? The onset is sudden and if it is a true panic attack, and not a heart attack, an episode will last anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes.

Symptoms are:

* Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate
* Sweating
* Trembling or shaking
* Muscle tension
* Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
* Feeling of choking
* Chest pain or discomfort
* Nausea or abdominal distress
* Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
* Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
* Fear of losing control or going insane
* Fear of dying
* Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
* Chills or hot flashes
* Weakness in the knees
* Confusion
* Blank mind
* Sensing time going by very slowly
* Feeling the need to escape

So how can you know? Is this a panic attack or a physical crisis? With a panic attack, the discomfort or pain is located over your heart. If the pain moves to your chest center, and/or down your arms, does not get better within 10 minutes, if you go through more than one episode of vomiting or diarrhea, or you get relief but then the symptoms return, seek medical help immediately. Always err on the side of caution!

Don't despair. There is help! Practical methods can be found to ease and manage this incapacitating condition. Insight is power. And do NOT feel ashamed! You are not alone, as tens of thousands endure this dilemma along with you. You can find panic attack strategies to help you regain your more healthy life. Recovery is within your reach!

By: Carolyn Elizabeth Blake

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If you found comfort in this arttcle by Carolyn Blake, Am I Having a Panic Attack, I highly recommend you read more about panic attacks at Stop Panic Attack Strategy.