Fear is the most typical of all panic attack symptoms. This is often characterized by the strong desire to flee. You cant predict a panic attack but a trigger is usually responsible for the onset of an attack. Stress,depression,phobias,drugs or a traumatic experience can be triggers.
If you experience immobilizing fear,lack of concentration,depression or phobias then they could lead eventually to a panic attack.
If you have one or more of the panic attack symptoms below then you could be on the verge of a panic attack:
Lightheadedness
Tingling in hands,feet or scalp
Sweating
Chest pain or palpitations
Nausea
Chills or hot flushes
Shortness of breath
Intense fear
Diarrhea
Muscle spasm
Dry mouth
During a panic attack many people feel that they will lose control,have a heart attack,are suffering from a serious illness or are ‘going crazy’. Panic attacks usually only last for several minutes but they are frightening.
In my own experience the first panic attack symptom I get is tingling in my fingers and scalp and a dry mouth. I get six of the panic attack symptoms above before and during the attack as well as ‘the wave’of panic which follows. I will talk about ‘the wave’another time.
Recognizing the symptoms is a good thing as it alerts me to the fact that I am anxious and I then know to start my breathing techniques to lower my over-breathing which is causing the symptoms,so the panic attack doesnt come on.
Forewarned is forearmed,so they say,and in my case this warning has helped me many a time.
Thanks Pauline for the symptoms of panic attacks. I have just realised for the first time that I actually experience 6 of the symptoms regularly and think I may have experienced my first panic attack a few days ago when I suddenly felt severe nausea and shortness of breath and had to go outside and breathe my way through a wave of ‘something’that came over me. Hopefully I will be able to overcome this before it progresses by being more aware. A Doctor once told me it was just a matter of time before I started to have panic attacks but I didn’t really believe him as at the time I hadn’t really experienced anything like what he was describing as a panic attack. I will definitely try to work on breathing techniques.