What are the symptoms of Panic Attacks?

The symptoms of panic attacks (anxiety attacks) are wide ranging but most panic attacks sufferers experience a list of common Physical and Emotional symptoms.

Physical Panic Attacks (Anxiety Attack) Symptoms

• Racing heart
• Breathlessness
• Sweating
• Stomach problems
• Urgency to urinate
• Tight chest / chest pain
• Shaking
• Dizziness
• Pins and needles
• Aching muscles
• Head aches

The physical characteristics of a panic attack (anxiety attack) are usually different between sufferers. Some panic attacks present only a handful of symptoms, these are called 'limited-symptom panic attacks'.

Our genetic make-up plays a large part in determining our physical experience of panic attacks; some sufferers find the heart symptoms worse than the breathing symptoms and visa-versa.

The most important thing to remember is that none of the symptoms you experience during a panic attack (anxiety attack) can not harm you, they are all simply exaggerated anxiety sensations and are meant to help rather than harm you.

Emotional Panic Attack (anxiety attack) Symptoms

The emotional symptoms of panic attacks can be as, if not more, alarming as the physical. Anxiety produces these symptoms as a by-product of your raised anxiety level.

Emotional panic attack symptoms include:

• Feeling of impending doom or death
• Feeling as if going mad
• Feeling as if in a dream or nightmare
• Aggression
• Confusion
• Extreme fear
• Feeling emotional, sad, alone

The list of emotional panic attack symptoms goes on. Every sufferer experiences something different.

Although panic attack symptoms differ from person to person, every single sufferer has one thing in common; by eliminating the underlying fear - the anxiety itself, panic attacks can be eliminated, mostly within hours or days.

There is no exception to this, everyone will recover given the correct treatment.

Obsessive or aggressive thought patterns are common in panic attacks and when in the midst of an attack, the sufferer has a reduced ability to view their position rationally. Their extreme anxiety overwhelms them with fear, the fear then creates more anxiety and the panic attack cycle continues.

Anxiety has the force to drive anxiety levels to the extreme, panic attacks ensue and the cycle continues, but the cycle can be broken!