 What are the signs and symptoms of a panic attack? Maybe you've had what you think is a panic attack or more than one panic attack, but you're not really sure if that's what it is. So let's review the signs and symptoms of panic to help you better determine if you are experiencing panic attacks or not. I'm Drulan Salata, creator and host of The Anxious Truth. I'm also, as of December 2023, a therapist in training with a specialization in anxiety and anxiety disorders. I'm an author, a podcaster, an educator in the anxiety disorder community, and I'm also a former sufferer. I struggled with anxiety disorders and depression for many years of my life, so I know what this all feels like. This is the first talk in my Panic Foundation series. It's designed to help you understand the nature of panic and panic attacks. The next few talks in the series will learn more about the mechanics of panic attacks, how to deal with them, and how they can sometimes lead to chronic issues like panic disorder or agoraphobia. If you find that interesting or helpful, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel, or if you're listening to this as a podcast episode, maybe subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app. Before we get started, I want to emphasize that the internet is not therapy or medical help. Only a qualified medical professional can diagnose medical issues. Only a qualified mental health professional can formally diagnose a panic attack or chronic condition like panic disorder or agoraphobia. This talk is designed to help you understand what a panic attack can look and feel like. It cannot be taken as a diagnosis or as individual medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional that knows your specific situation. So how can you determine if you are having panic attacks or if what you are experiencing is maybe something else? Let's dive into the signs and symptoms of panic attacks. A panic attack is an extreme state of anxious agitation and fear that arises when there is no actual threat or danger present. This makes panic attacks very confusing and even mysterious for many people. During a panic attack, you can experience a combination of intense physical sensations in your body, a flood of scary and catastrophic thoughts and extreme fear. Most people also experience a strong feeling of impending doom or disaster all without an actual threat being present at the moment. One general characteristic of panic attacks is that the entire experience is extremely scary. It's very uncomfortable and it can be disruptive or even debilitating while it's happening. It's more than just being anxious or nervous or jittery or afraid. When in the middle of a panic attack, you will often feel an urgent and even frantic need to escape the situation you are in or be saved or rescued. For most people, during a panic attack, the natural fight or flight survival response is triggered. For others, the freeze response may kick in, leaving them feeling frozen and unable to do anything while at the height of that fear and discomfort. Know that both of these responses are common. You do not have a special problem if you experience the freeze response. Now, the physical signs and symptoms of panic are very wide-ranging and individuals will experience combinations of these symptoms that can vary from hour to hour day to day and over time. A mental health professional using fancy diagnostic tools like the DSM would look for four or more of these symptoms when determining if you're having panic attacks or not from an official clinical perspective. But some of the most common physical signs or symptoms of panic attack include a racing heart, tightness or pain in the chest, choking sensations, a dry mouth, visual disturbances, shaky or weak feelings in your limbs, nausea, feeling like you need to run to a bathroom right away, feeling off balance, unsteady or dizzy, feeling like you can't get enough breath, hot and cold flashes, trembling or shaking, feelings of unreality or feelings as if you are outside your body or detached from yourself, extreme muscle tension and numbness or tingling, especially in the face, fingers and toes, which can indicate that you're hyperventilating. If you'd like to hear regular people just like you, describe the symptoms and sensations of panic and you're watching on my YouTube channel, well, check out the video link that you see up on your screen. I'll also put it down in the video description below and in the podcast notes in case you're listening on a podcast app. The mental and cognitive signs of panic attacks include feelings of extreme fear and impending doom or catastrophe. Your brain will often conjure up a bunch of what if thoughts that suggest that you are in real danger. You might also struggle to speak clearly or remember things like phone numbers, street names or even the names of people you've known for a really long time. During a panic attack, it's actually quite common to feel afraid and confused. You may be convinced that you are in real trouble and unable to use sort of the thinking part of your brain because the lower part of your brain, we can call it the lizard brain if you want, thinks it needs to be in the driver's seat and calling the shots. Now remember that all of these things, the physical, mental and cognitive signs of panic all occur in the absence of an actual threat or source of danger. This is all very scary, very uncomfortable and very bewildering, especially if it's happening to you repeatedly. The signs and symptoms of panic are so scary and impactful that they often get confused with other truly dangerous events. A panic attack is often confused with a heart attack or a stroke. A person having a panic attack may assume that they are dying, losing touch with reality or about to completely lose control or go insane. If you are experiencing what you think might be panic attacks and are worried that they do mean that you are in actual medical or psychological danger, you're not alone in that at all. A very large number of people that experience panic attacks will misinterpret them as real danger. It's more common than you might think. Now, I wanna emphasize that one of the most important features of a panic attack is that it is scary and it is very intense but it is not actually dangerous. An actual panic attack will feel like it can kill you or harm you or make you lose control but it simply cannot do that. This may be the first time you've heard this or maybe you've heard it many times and want to keep hearing it. Just know that if you're struggling to believe that you are safe when experiencing panic, you're not alone in that and you are not broken in some way. If you are having the same experience that many, many people have unfortunately at some point in their lives. Now, determining if what you're having are in fact panic attacks can be tricky. You have to really look at the combination of physical and mental signs to determine if your experience meets the clinical definition of a panic attack. And again, there must be no actual threat or danger present when these experiences happen. But if you experience a combination of scary sensations, scary thoughts and intense fear for no apparent reason that feels like it comes out of the blue, then there's probably a chance that you are having panic attacks. But again, only a qualified professional can tell you this for sure from a clinical perspective. Now in the end, whether or not you technically had a panic attack or not, sometimes doesn't really matter. A scary and adverse experience that you don't want to repeat is going to be impactful no matter what we call it. So let's acknowledge that. If you are experiencing what you think might be panic attacks, it's important to get medically checked out by your doctor. Everybody starts there. This is not just a good idea to get medically checked in this situation. Any good mental health professional would really insist that you do that before starting therapy or counseling to address the issue. If you've already been checked out and medically cleared, then good job. You're advocating for yourself and for your well-being, which is a good thing. So I want to wrap this up by telling you that a panic attack is an experience most people will have at least once in their lives. Many people will have recurring panic attacks. Some of those will develop chronic conditions like panic disorder or agoraphobia. And while this is all very impactful and frightening, experiencing panic attacks does not doom you to a life of suffering. This is actually one of the most common and successfully addressed mental health issues. In one of the next talks in the series, we'll talk about the most effective ways to handle or even professionally treat panic attack problems. I hope that I have been able to help you get a better understanding of what signs and symptoms indicate that you may be having a panic attack or panic attacks. My goal here was to give you information that you can use to make good decisions about what to do next to address this issue if you choose to do that. In future episodes of my Panic Foundation series, we'll examine some of the most common questions about panic attacks. So either look for those coming soon or they were ready out because you're watching or listening in the future. So check my YouTube channel and my podcast feed for those. If you would like a more detailed look at panic attacks right away, feel free to check out my Panic Attacks Explained Workshop. It's a 90 minute video workshop designed to teach you all about panic attacks and why you've been unable to stop them. It's a friendly, no-nonsense, easy to understand explanation of what panic attacks are, how they become panic disorder or agoraphobia and why you are just not doomed to a life of recurring panic. If you're interested in that, you can find the link in the video or podcast description. You might also consider following me on social media for more free information about anxiety and anxiety disorders or even consider checking out the books that I've written on anxiety and anxiety recovery. All of those links are in the show notes in your podcast app or in the video description below. Thank you for listening or watching. I do hope this has been helpful for you and I hope I see you in the next video or podcast episode.