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A panic attack (or anxiety attack) is a period of intense,
often temporarily disabling, sense of extreme fear or psychological
distress, typically of abrupt onset. Though it is often a purely
terrifying feeling to the sufferer, panic attacks are actually
an instinctual body response often known as the fight-or-flight
response occurring out of context. During a panic attack, the
body typically releases large amounts of adrenaline into the bloodstream.
Many first time sufferers of a panic attack believe they are
dying or going insane and report that panic attacks are among
the most frightening experiences of their lives. Repeated and
apparently unprovoked panic attacks may be a sign of panic
disorder, but panic attacks are also associated with other
anxiety disorders. For
example, people who suffer from specific
phobia or social phobia
may experience panic attacks upon exposure to certain triggers.
Recreational drugs have also been known to provoke panic attacks
in certain people.
According to the American Psychological Association a panic attack
typically lasts ten minutes. More severe panic attacks may form
a series of episodes waxing and waning every few minutes, lasting
for a period of up to two hours, only to be ended by physical
exhaustion and sleep. In conditions of chronic anxiety, one panic
attack can roll into another, leading to nervous exhaustion over
a period of days.
Symptoms of panic attacks can incorporate any of the following:
Physical
 Sweating
Shortness
of Breath (dyspnea)
Racing
or pounding heartbeat or palpitations
Chest
pain
Dizziness
or Vertigo
Light-headedness
Nausea
/ Stomach Pains
Hyperventilation
Choking
or smothering sensations
Uncontrollable
Itching
Tingling
or numbness in the hands, face, feet or mouth (Paresthesia)
Hot/Cold
Flashes
Faintness
Trembling
or shaking
Exhaustion
Mental
The
loss of the ability to react logically to stimuli
Loss
of cognitive ability in general
Loud
internal dialogue
Feeling
of impending doom
Emotional
Fear
that the panic is a symptom of a serious illness
Fear
of losing control
Fear
of death
Fear
of going crazy
Flashbacks
to earlier panic triggers
Terror,
or a sense that something unimaginably horrible is about to
occur and one is powerless
 to
prevent it
Perceptual
Tunnel
vision
Heightened
senses
The
apparent slowing down or speeding up of time
Dream-like
sensation or perceptual distortion (derealization)
Dissociation,
or the perception that one is not connected to the body or is
disconnected from
space
and time (depersonalization).
Up to 10 percent of otherwise healthy people experience an isolated
panic attack per year, and 1 in 60 people in the U.S. will suffer
from a panic disorder at some point in their lifetime. When the
sufferer experiences more than four bodily symptoms it is said
that they have had a full blown panic attack while experiencing
four or less symptoms constitutes a limited symptom attack.
The various symptoms of a panic attack can be understood
as follows. First, there is the sudden onset of fear often with
little or no provoking stimulus. This leads to a release of adrenaline
(epinephrine) which brings about the fight-or-flight response
where the person's body prepares for major physical activity.
This leads to an increased heart rate (tachycardia), rapid breathing
(hyperventilation), and sweating (which increases grip and aids
heat loss).
Because strenuous activity rarely ensues, the hyperventilation
leads to a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and then
in the blood. This leads to shifts in blood pH which in turn can
cause other symptoms, such as tingling or numbness, dizziness,
and light-headedness. It is also possible for the person experiencing
such an attack to feel as though they are unable to catch their
breath, and they begin to take deeper breaths, which also acts
to decrease carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
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