Hmm, I'm not sure how easy it is to distinguish between a panic attack and anxiety.
I would say that anxiety is more of a chronic (long term / longer lasting), where as a panic attack is more acute (sudden onset).
I would say that numbness in the hands and feet were caused by a panic attack. Hyperventilation (breathing too quickly), causes numbness and/ or pins and needles to the extremities (hands, feet, lips), and can also cause cramps in the same areas. It's a really horrible sensation, which makes the sufferer panic more, and therefore the symptoms increase. It is caused by the rapid breathing, and breathing out too much carbon dioxide (which is why people often breathe in and out into a paper bag, because if the bag is sealed we then re-breathe the carbon dioxide that we breathe out, and the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen reach their proper equilibrium). Dizziness caused by the same thing.
A racing heart and diarrhoea caused by the adrenaline secreted due to the anxiety and panic. 'Flight or fight', either way adrenaline pumps blood to the organs that need it (heart, lungs and brain), and takes blood away from organs that don't need it (stomach and bowels). That explain headache and vision problems (extra blood pumping to your brain), and diarrhoea/ vomiting (due to stomach and bowel 'shutting down').
Here ends the science lesson. lol! The thing to do when panic / anxiety strikes is to try to stay calm, and generally the easiest way to do that, and control the symptoms is to take slow breaths. If you understand why you are getting the physical feeling, that can help, because as I said. You panic, feel physically bad, and panic some more. Because a panic attack can really feel like you are dying. It is a truly horrible feeling. It also comes on quickly, but can take a good hour of calm normal breathing to rectify. So it can be a viscous cycle. The more you can understand what is going on physically, the better chance you have of controlling it, hence the physiology lesson above. If some one is having a panic attack in your presence the best thing you can do, is to try to coach them to slow their breathing down, whilst reassuring them.
