Panic Attacks: How do they work?

[Roland]

I hear people say things like “There was a fight at school, it affected me so much I went home and had a panic attack” or “I had a panic attack when I got home”.

Is that even possible? Are people taking the license to use the word “panic attack”for attention? From my understand you couldn’t wait until you get home to have a panic attack, you would have had one at school.

I’m probably being an asshole, but I’ve heard multiple people say that in the past month.

 

[EveHarrington]

No, I don’t think you are being an asshole. It’s ok to question things.

I don’t know about panic attacks, but I know that delayed reactions are common with other disorders. I oftentimes have episodes 2 to 3 days after I am hit with a stressor or trigger. But, in my case, my body isn’t waiting until I’m in a safe place per se as it’s simply a delayed reaction and not a “delayed until you are in a safe place” reaction. Maybe it’s more of a “delayed until you are in another place” reaction that I learned over the years.

 

[RachelBigby]

People certainly do use panic in a very loose sense. There isn’t any real hard line to mark when something is bad enough for panic, so people have varying levels of what counts as panic. I’ve had people tell me they relate to my attacks because they felt a little nervous.

That said, delayed panic is a real thing. You do what you got to do to get through that experience, then panic about it later.

 

[Freddyt]

Is that even possible? Are people taking the license to use the word “panic attack”for attention? From my understand you couldn’t wait until you get home to have a panic attack, you would have had one at school.

Yup. Strangely enough that stuff goes in and out of style until everyone is doing it and it becomes unfashionable, like being depressed was a few years ago. It's why Prozac was so popular. A legal way to get altered...

Because for me, panic attacks - come in the moment. boom right here right now. They don't wait until I get home or get somewhere. Home is where they usually stop happening.

 

[Friday]

It’s actually an incredibly common feature of functional distress, for people to hold it together in the moment, go somewhere safe… and lose their ever-loving shit in private.

Legs go out from underneath them, heart racing, can’t breathe, can’t see / everything is swimming, their ears are screaming -or maybe they are, can’t tell- drenched in sweat, puking their guts up, and ‘come to’ (often hours later) curled up in a ball rocking and shaking… or with their apartment half destroyed… or sitting in their shower all run out of hot water… or, or, or. Even after it’s over, everything is too loud, too bright, they can’t get their hands/legs to stop shaking, everything is wrong, etc.

^^^ Sound like a panic attack to you? Because that’s a panic attack.

Completely neurotypical people get them, too, following high stress events.

Which is the major difference between a panic attack from someone who is neurotypical, and someone who is disordered.

- PTSD panic attacks EITHER follow triggers/stressors or increased stress without outlet; and are either instantaneous, or follow stress cup levels rising, and occur ‘randomly’ (ie not really). Unlike a neurotypical person who has to have a REAL high stress event, the trigger for someone with PTSD can be a Kleenex touched their arm, or the washing machine started, or two people were debating whether A or B is better, or whatever.

- Autism & ADHD panic attacks typically follow sensory overload or emotional overwhelm.

- ED panic attacks typically follow a body dysmorphic moment

- Phobia panic attacks typically follow exposure to what the person is phobic about.

Et Cetera. In a maaaaajor way.

***
So, sure. People hyperbolize. People also -especially following the flood of people seeking therapy durin covid, and in attempts to destigmatize mental health- just have “better” words to describe what happened than “I was so upset I went home and collapsed.”

 

[Roland]

No, I don’t think you are being an asshole. It’s ok to question things.

I don’t know about panic attacks, but I know that delayed reactions are common with other disorders. I oftentimes have episodes 2 to 3 days after I am hit with a stressor or trigger. But, in my case, my body isn’t waiting until I’m in a safe place per se as it’s simply a delayed reaction and not a “delayed until you are in a safe place” reaction. Maybe it’s more of a “delayed until you are in another place” reaction that I learned over the years.

Yeah I have this experience with PTSD. I can compartmentalize and tough it out and deal with something later but if I don’t deal with it, I will lose control of when it hits.

People certainly do use panic in a very loose sense. There isn’t any real hard line to mark when something is bad enough for panic, so people have varying levels of what counts as panic. I’ve had people tell me they relate to my attacks because they felt a little nervous.

That said, delayed panic is a real thing. You do what you got to do to get through that experience, then panic about it later.

Yeah I get that

It’s actually an incredibly common feature of functional distress, for people to hold it together in the moment, go somewhere safe… and lose their ever-loving shit in private.

Legs go out from underneath them, heart racing, can’t breathe, can’t see / everything is swimming, their ears are screaming -or maybe they are, can’t tell- drenched in sweat, puking their guts up, and ‘come to’ (often hours later) curled up in a ball rocking and shaking… or with their apartment half destroyed… or sitting in their shower all run out of hot water… or, or, or. Even after it’s over, everything is too loud, too bright, they can’t get their hands/legs to stop shaking, everything is wrong, etc.

^^^ Sound like a panic attack to you? Because that’s a panic attack.

Completely neurotypical people get them, too, following high stress events.

Which is the major difference between a panic attack from someone who is neurotypical, and someone who is disordered.

- PTSD panic attacks EITHER follow triggers/stressors or increased stress without outlet; and are either instantaneous, or follow stress cup levels rising, and occur ‘randomly’ (ie not really). Unlike a neurotypical person who has to have a REAL high stress event, the trigger for someone with PTSD can be a Kleenex touched their arm, or the washing machine started, or two people were debating whether A or B is better, or whatever.

- Autism & ADHD panic attacks typically follow sensory overload or emotional overwhelm.

- ED panic attacks typically follow a body dysmorphic moment

- Phobia panic attacks typically follow exposure to what the person is phobic about.

Et Cetera. In a maaaaajor way.

***
So, sure. People hyperbolize. People also -especially following the flood of people seeking therapy durin covid, and in attempts to destigmatize mental health- just have “better” words to describe what happened than “I was so upset I went home and collapsed.”

So hard to tell tbh, whether or not it’s a true panic attack people are referring to, or what they are saying. Yeah it does make sense that it looks different with different disorders and it does seem like many people have poor mental health these days. I just don’t like phrases like that casually thrown around.

 

[sunlight7]

It’s actually an incredibly common feature of functional distress, for people to hold it together in the moment, go somewhere safe… and lose their ever-loving shit in private.

Legs go out from underneath them, heart racing, can’t breathe, can’t see / everything is swimming, their ears are screaming -or maybe they are, can’t tell- drenched in sweat, puking their guts up, and ‘come to’ (often hours later) curled up in a ball rocking and shaking… or with their apartment half destroyed… or sitting in their shower all run out of hot water… or, or, or. Even after it’s over, everything is too loud, too bright, they can’t get their hands/legs to stop shaking, everything is wrong, etc.

^^^ Sound like a panic attack to you? Because that’s a panic attack.
Completely neurotypical people get them, too, following high stress events.

Which is the major difference between a panic attack from someone who is neurotypical, and someone who is disordered.

- PTSD panic attacks EITHER follow triggers/stressors or increased stress without outlet; and are either instantaneous, or follow stress cup levels rising, and occur ‘randomly’ (ie not really). Unlike a neurotypical person who has to have a REAL high stress event, the trigger for someone with PTSD can be a Kleenex touched their arm, or the washing machine started, or two people were debating whether A or B is better, or whatever.

- Autism & ADHD panic attacks typically follow sensory overload or emotional overwhelm.

- ED panic attacks typically follow a body dysmorphic moment

- Phobia panic attacks typically follow exposure to what the person is phobic about.

Et Cetera. In a maaaaajor way.

***
So, sure. People hyperbolize. People also -especially following the flood of people seeking therapy durin covid, and in attempts to destigmatize mental health- just have “better” words to describe what happened than “I was so upset I went home and collapse

I won hundred percent agree. All of these mental health disorders can cause panic attacks, but due to a different things for example,

I had a very severe PTSD induced panic attack a few weeks ago. I was in an argument with someone and something they said triggered me and my chest tightened up To the it point felt like a heart attack and I was hyperventilating, and my face was red I couldn’t breathe, my adrenaline had spiked and my body went to fight or flight mode. the next day my body and everything was exhausted. I did go to my PCP and talked to my therapist and they said it was a panic attack. I have never hadsomething like that happen before. If you have any questions about it, just let me know. It was really scary. My parents were present and my mom almost took me to the hospital, I don’t ever want to have another one again but if it happens it happens at least I know what to expect now. Hopefully.

I actually had a discussion with my cousin today, who also suffers from mental health issues. She has severe depression, and has battled it on and off for years, and she had a panic attack recently, but unlike mine hers made her feel lightheaded like she had tunnel vision, and she threw up and it caused her vertigo.

I do think panic attacks can cause different symptoms for different people could may be due to the triggers that caused it but that’s all just speculation. I also believe they can be delayed as well. Mind is tricky thing.