What's Anxiety Like For You?

[Gadgie]

Yea! and if you get a really bad anxiety attack, the symptoms are so similar to a heart attack, that some sufferers think they are having one?

 

[EveHarrington]

At its worst, uncontrollable shaking and electrical shocks in my body.

 

[ghotiff]

It was only recently that I learnt that my asthma attacks were actually panic attacks.

 

[gypsysoul]

Have you guys heard that there's a difference between anxiety and panic attacks...? Typically, when people (myself included) say, "anxiety attack," I am referring to panic attacks. However, I've been told they're two separate things. Is this true? In the DSM, there is no such thing as an anxiety attack, which is odd...

 

[Jarrett]

When I first starting experiencing panic attacks, I was eight. I think as uncomfortable for me as they are now, they were far worse then. I felt as if my entire body weighed a thousand tons, I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. Every sound was amplified and it felt like there were a thousand voices screaming in my head. As a kid, it was about the scariest experience I ever had to cope with, as an adult, it is scarier for the people around me more than anything.

I shut down, I don't want to talk or look at anyone, for fear that I might lash out verbally or physically. It's too easy to feel like you're on the verge of losing control when you feel like you have no control over your body or your mind.

@gypsysoul

I've heard them used interchangeably for as long as I can remember. I haven't heard they are two separate things, but language is funny that way. Every tissue is a kleenex, every bandage is a band-aid, and every panic attack is an anxiety attack. Whether they are different or not, I understand what they both mean for you.

 

[SpiritFree]

Have you guys heard that there's a difference between anxiety and panic attacks...? Typically, when p...

For me, I assume they are the same. I don't see the difference when it came to describing them.

 

[gypsysoul]

It's too easy to feel like you're on the verge of losing control when you feel like you have no control over your body or your mind.

Amen to that!

 

[Deleted member 29920]

Currently an absolute nightmare, outdoors I'm having problems with shortness of breath and dizziness that makes me feel like I'll faint. :(

 

[gypsysoul]

Currently an absolute nightmare

I know what you mean... It's pretty awful.

 

[Deleted member 29920]

It really is. I have to keep stopping when I'm walking outdoors and that's awkward because there's usually nowhere to sit, so it's - lean against a wall :confused: I hate it, I'm sorry you get it too @gypsysoul

 

[thatscooliguess]

I feel the impending doom feeling almost all the time, even when I'm not having an attack. I constantly feel like horrible things are about to happen. To the point that it makes me sick.
Usually how my panic attacks begin is with hyperventilating. I wind up breathing too fast and can't get full breaths. This then makes me panic more. Certain parts of my body begin tingling, mostly my face, hands, and arms. My heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest. I'm nauseous. I can't move. I can't take deep breaths. I shake. I can feel my heart skip beats. I get really hot, red, and sweaty. The shortest I've had one (without medicine stopping it) was probably an hour. The longest has been three days. Waking up and going to sleep with a panic attack.
I'm not prescribed any anxiety medicine right now. So I take melatonin to try to calm me down. It kind of works. And I do the thing where you sit and describe everything you hear, smell, taste, feel, and see. It's pretty effective with the breathing aspect.

 

[Heather]

I hate how anxiety rules my life. My heart is pounding out of my chest. I can't sit still. My foot moves continuously. Thoughts ruminate in my head. I try deep breathing and it does little to calm me.

I hate living like this.