What are the symptoms of panic and anxiety attacks?

When it comes to anxiety and panic attacks, chances are you or someone close to you has experienced them at some point. If not, congratulations! You’re either a completely relaxed individual, an emotionless robot or just plain lucky. Either way, let’s dive into the world of these pesky symptoms with our tongue-in-cheek approach.

What Are Panic and Anxiety Attacks?

Panic attacks manifest as sudden feelings of intense fear or discomfort that can last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour. They appear out of nowhere and can make those experiencing them feel like they’re about to die.

Anxiety attacks, on the other hand – assuming we don’t want get bogged down in semantics here – are characterized by overwhelming stress accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, palpitations, chest pressure/tightness/ache and difficulty breathing.

To put it simply: one is your body deciding it’s time for takeoff even though you’re sitting still; while the other is more like pretending everything’s cool when inside everything definitely isn’t.

Symptoms Of A Panic Attack

Okay folks don’t panic but… let’s talk about what actually goes on during a panic attack:

Chest Discomfort/Pain

That feeling when somebody makes fun of your favorite Pokémon game? Imagine that amplified 700 times in tightness around your chest. Fun stuff!

Shortness Of Breath

Or ‘air-hunger’ if we wanna sound all technical which I’m sure everyone does (sarcasm alert!). That oxygen tank becomes quite beguiling all of a sudden…

Palpitations/Racing Heartbeat Old faithful takes its sweet sweet time then decides suddenly to race faster than Usain Bolt? Yeah.. Welcome to cardiac anxiety people!

Trembling Or Shaking Hands

We’re talking full-on parkinsonian trembles showing up uninvited at the most inopportune moments like a nasty rash.

Dizziness/Light-Headedness We all have those moments when our heads feel like the world moves around us. But in panic attack scenarios it’s like you’ve had one martini too many when your blood sugar is just wanting to go home.

Symptoms Of Anxiety Attack

The physical symptoms of anxiety attacks usually mimic that of panic attack symptoms. Here are a few such similarities and other common ones:

Increased Heart Rate

That fight-or-flight reaction has skipped leg day all year round but on this day ambles over giving Hulk himself a run for his money

Sweating

Clammy palms, sweatstains under armpits, forehead looking like someone threw water balloons at it? Say no more fam

Nausea Or Vomiting

When you went to bed last night everything was fine; woke up feeling anxious… and what comes next likely involves mouthwash

Shaking And Trembling You want nothing more than steady hands right now but instead they’re quivering like jelly which means.. Bye-bye coffee cup 🙁

So What Triggers These Things Exactly?

If by any chance you’ve been hanging onto this farcical article hoping we’d avoid actual useful info, well sorry to disappoint! It’s high time we got introspective here:

Stress: A stressful work environment/schooling gets those butterflies flapping their wings even harder ultimately culminating into an abrupt crash landing.

Trauma/Abuse: A history thereof could bring back terrible memories and play out as nightmare fuel late into the night, escalating towards sleepless nights

Genetics: If genetics were playing cards your family or parents might well hold multiple “aces” meaning increased chances for developing anxiety disorders or depression.

Phobia:
Some people develop specific fears/phobias be it heights, spiders or social embarrassment. These can lead to anxiety disorders and panic attacks.

Chronic Illness\: People dealing with chronic illnesses like asthma, migraines, inflammatory bowel disease etc tend to feel a higher level of generalized anxiety primarily due to the unpredictability of how long things will hold up.

Alright We Get It! So What Do We DO?

Now that we’ve gone through what feels like verbal ping-pong between useful info and our “comedic” tone it’s time to be serious but without losing our lighthearted edge:

1. Practice Mindfulness Strategies

Mindfulness? Om-chanting ‘silliness’ right? Maybe not… But standing still can help you gain control over racing thoughts making obsessive spiraling less likely

2. Breathing Techniques

Panic symptoms strike when breathing gets out of rhythm due to hyperventilation. Slow deep breaths cut the clutches of panic away eventually replacing them with soothing oxygen

3.\ Medication

Finding relief from symptoms might mean walking down the meds aisle at your local drugstore as antidepressants anxiolytics are designed for midafternoon meltdowns too!

### 4.Psychotherapy: Aka “Talk therapy” Where sharing one’s struggles in a safe space helps identify underlying emotional triggers allaying heightened physical reactions

###5.Exercise: Yoga/pilates outside/mall walks – Whatever has voodoo healing power on you exercise should always make its way into everyone’s life because ultimately endorphins raise dopamine levels tricking your body/mind machinery into releasing happy elixirs bringing much-needed relaxation scenarios

Recapitulation Of Depression And Anxiety Symptoms

No matter how messed-up feeling during these episodes may seem , try keeping this basic summary about depression/anxiety in mind :
• Physical sensations experienced include palpitations , chest pain/tightness/discomfort, sweating, trembling/shaking hands , dizziness/light headiness
• Certain triggers/trauma could lead to depression/anxiety disorders developing over time
• Seeking help from a mental health professional regardless of thoughts along the lines of “I’m not that bad”
can often accelerate getting back on track .
With this in mind ,let’s treat ourselves like our own best friends leaving space for trial and error which eventually will get us moving forward again.

We hope we’ve provided some comic relief along with valuable information. Let’s all take care of ourselves, spread love, joy and lots of laughter around – please don’t let those aforementioned symptoms pull you down!

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