What Does a Panic Attack Actually Feel Like?
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All of a sudden everything around you changes. The room around you feels smaller, and it might just be spinning a little bit. Your palms are sweaty, and it feels that you’ve lost your sense of gravity. You’re in your body, and somehow equally disconnected from it. Your heart is racing a mile a minute. Your chest is heavy and you’re finding it hard to fully catch your breath. Something is very wrong.
I Thought I Was Dying
At 18 I experienced my first panic attack; the moment triggered by heights. I had never heard of a panic attack before, and quite literally had no idea what was happening to my body. I thought I was going to die. The years went on, and the panic attacks continued when triggered by exposure to heights.
What is Actually Happening in Your Body
Here’s what's happening when you’re panicking. In your brain lives a tiny piece called the amygdala. Its function is to scan your environment for danger, and let you know when something is wrong. Unfortunately, your amygdala cannot tell the difference between a real threat and a perceived one. Whether someone is chasing you, or you have an emotional conversation with your significant other, the same response is triggered. Once the amygdala picks up something is wrong, it sends signals and floods your body with adrenaline and cortisol. These are your emergency response hormones, and they begin to work overtime.
That’s when the heart starts pounding to push blood to muscles faster. Breathing speeds up to get more oxygen in. The chest begins to tighten. Hands go numb or tingly because blood is being redirected away from extremities toward major muscle groups. Dizziness may begin because breathing has shifted. Then the stomach drops because digestion is considered nonessential in an emergency and gets temporarily shut down. There is a sense of impending doom.
The body is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It is preparing to fight or run for survival.
Now the body has entered into a cruel cycle. The panic attack leads to physical sensations, which is interpreted as danger causing more symptoms and stress hormones. This begins to feel like more danger. The cycle is one that feeds itself, until there is nothing left and it eventually calms down.
When in a panic attack, it feels as though it’ll last forever. If it’s one of your first panic attacks, you’re not sure if or when it’ll end, and how. Panic attacks do not last forever. Panic attacks last 5-20 minutes, with an average peak of the worst symptoms at 10 minutes. However once in one, 10 minutes feels like an eternity. You are not dying. Your body is just very confused about the level of danger you're actually in.
The Emotions of it All
While the panic attack may be short, the emotional and mental hang up is also common. Tiredness, exhaustion, frustration, sadness, and anxiety are often the residue of the panic attack. Often an individual will feel embarrassment and shame, unsure of why it happened in the first place, or why it continues to happen. I find that once an individual has a panic attack caused by a specific trigger, it’s not so much fear of the trigger itself, but rather the fear of that trigger producing a panic attack again. Panic attacks are scary, and are difficult to experience and navigate.
Helpful in the Moment Tips
When you feel a panic attack coming on, or are in the middle of one, lay down on the floor if you can. Begin to take deep breaths in, and release as slowly as you possibly can. This will be difficult initially, but will become easier as the time continues. I personally keep cooling packs on hand during high anxiety moments. The cold sensation gives your nervous system something concrete to focus on and can interrupt the panic cycle. This is purely a grounding tool, not unlike splashing cold water on your face.
My first panic attack happened when I was on the roof of a two story home. I had no access to laying flat on the ground or an ice pack. I truly did not have control over any part of my body. I became paralyzed. If you’re like me, just begin to calm your breathing little by little.
I also highly recommend the 5-4-3-2-1 method: 5 things you see, 4 things you feel/ are touching, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, and 1 thing you taste. This is a mindfulness technique that helps to reduce stress and panic by grounding and recentering you.
If possible, always remember this panic will pass soon. Repeat that phrase in your head until you calm completely.
What Helps Long Term
Panic attacks are treatable. You are not stuck with these flooded moments forever. Therapy is a great help. Cognitive based approaches can help mentally work through the triggers. I also like to include EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), which helps to reduce the emotional impact of your triggers.
Exercise is also a great tool to implement when feeling heightened anxiety, and can help to prevent a panic attack. If you feel one potentially around the corner, even a simple walk does wonders for the body and mind. To put it simply, your brain produces anti-anxiety chemicals that help to regulate your nervous system and stabilize your mood.
Some individuals also seek the help of medication in order to manage those panicked moments. I always encourage pairing medicine with therapy to address the underlying roots.
Panic attacks are truly horrible. They are happening to individuals far more often than you think. You are not broken, you are not stuck here forever, and most importantly you are not alone. The goal of long term treatment isn't just managing the panic attacks when they come, it's getting to a place where they come far less often, if at all. The goal is to feel in control, not controlled by panic.