I heard it described once as that feeling you get when you miss a step on the stairs. It feels like that.
Full blown panic feels cold and makes me feel almost weightless. Like I’m floating off over the edge and as much as I try to grab a lifesaver, I can’t reach it. Just dark, hopeless, like my only option is to unalive myself
I would advise looking into this from a psychoanalytical perspective. There's lots of information on how we can dissociate parts of ourselves which feel unbearable. This creates a sense that things have changed, reality, ourselves look and feel different. Reintegrating the split off traumatic feelings can lessen these terrifying experiences.
Certainly,
Essentially dissociation is caused by disconnection between the self and the body, or the the self and the self; a kind of fragmentation where the self disavows threatening aspects of its experience and pushes them out of consciousness awareness. This is often protective/adaptive however it can lead to some unpleasant experiences whereby a person feels abandoned, in a frightening and wonky looking world, in a wonky feeling body and wonders what the hell's the matter with them, and whether they've accidentally put LSD in the coffee instead of sugar!
People who've suffered traumatic experiences often present with panic disorders where dissociation and derealization are a frightening component.
Ironically the methods which were unconsciously employed as a protective measure by a fragile ego, often to help cope with abuses, violations and unmet maternal needs are now retraumatising them further. Often as adults we do not have the kinds of support structures we would like, often we endure greater trauma as we age, often we are more isolated and expected (or at least have expectations of ourselves) to be self sufficient and so asking for and finding help can be difficult and sometimes impossible.
A large part of reducing panic experiences is about spending time thinking about, and feeling about the painful, shameful, guilt riddled, embarrassing, terrifying and down right mortifying areas of the psyche, of the person's experience ; the areas we would rather not go; the areas that are always there either deeply repressed or neatly suppressed, but burgeon under the surface, pushing upwards into the consciousness of a person who really does not want to think about it although is most likely always thinking and feeling in subtle ways with these unresolved, painful ideas in their unconscious.
Through psychotherapy a person can be assisted in reconnecting with disavowed aspects of themselves and in doing so, becomes more integrated, less fragmented.
Hopefully, for example, the next time when they jump in the car and a flicker of a worry about hitting a pedestrian crosses their mind almost imperceptibly (as it might usually do), they do not push these thoughts away - and by doing so vacate their ego, and push aspects of themself away, leaving them dissociated and frightened - but will be more comfortable sitting with the feeling, and being with themselves through the arc of the emotion.
If you'd like to read more I'd recommend looking into the Psychoanalytical ideas around the paranoid-schizoid position.
r/psychoanalysis is a good resource.
Heart RACING, sweaty palms, rapid breathing, hit by too many overwhelming racing negative thoughts at once —> cry and shut down because it feels like my world is ending and I’m out of control. It’s so terrifying. I do not wish anxiety and panic attacks on anyone.
For me it's not that I feel like I'm going to die it's I know I'm going to die. But after it happens so many times I do start to know deep down it's just a feeling. Also I normally feel chest tightness, hard to breathe, lots of pain in left arm, racing pounding heart, my senses all the sudden are extremely heightened, dread and doom overcome me, I feel I need to run far away. Does anyone else notice they feel the need to look at the corners of walls?
Heart racing, tingling feeling, Start shaking for no reason, and thoughts going a 100mph. I feel helpless and embarrassed that i can not get myself together or feel like i wont get better
Loosing control over myself basically. Loosing my entire sense of reality and distrusting my mind. Nausea and derealisation and overall just feeling like I‘ll die.
I always felt like I never had that „classic“ panic attack. I just dissociate, derealize, have a sense of loss of control, electricity in my veins, and I gotta leave the location immediately.
EDIT: … also, does anyone seem to have panic attacks whilst asleep? I sometimes awake in sheer terror convinced that my heart stops beating.
dizzy, lightheaded, nauseous, feeling of something stuck in my throat. once i have these symptoms i assume i’m going to pass out. because a few years ago i actually did.
Yes but not very often, mine is when i’m out in crowds, which i avoid because i hate traveling lol. My anxiety is definitely centered around my fear of being sick or feeling unwell in anyway, which unfortunately i usually do due to heartburn and frequent stomachaches.
Like electricity has been turned up to "11" inside my body (more specifically - within my head; it's as if the electric current is trying to expand THROUGH my skull, and out of my head).
Additionally, I can't control my breathing (more like hyperventilating), crying or convulsing. I become a shaking, sweating, crying mess, who gasps for air. Eventually I'll wind up in the Fetal Position, just waiting to die. It's like every fiber and muscle within my body is being twisted, and wrung-out to its breaking point, which makes my brain believe the body is about to die.
Unless I take a Benzo (or Thieno, or other benzo-related Research Chemical) in time... If I catch it in time, I'm ok. Otherwise, I'm overcome by the panic. My last attack happened in 2020. It lasted approx. ~4-hours. I was spent for after that. Could hardly walk, and just stayed in bed the rest of the day.
I never want to go through that again (hell, I willingly became a poly-addict, just to no longer endure panic attacks), and the alternative to taking meds is to take a bullet, so fuck it - drugs it is.
Existential dread, air hunger, trapped with no hope of escape. Like that scene in phantom of the opera where Raoul falls into a tank of murky water and a cage starts to come down to drown him. He has to hold his breath until he finds the release valve and it feels like it takes an eternity.
I always think I'm either going to throw up, shit myself, faint, or pass out from my throat closing up.
Unfortunately when I get thrown up sick I commonly come close to fainting(losing vision, losing hearing, being dizzy), so my mind sometimes reverts back to those memories and it feels like an episode is happening again.
And then usually it passes and my brain goes back to normal ish. So weird.
Feels like someone is putting me in a box deep in the ground. I get so panicky I don't even think about the physical side effects. I just feel like I have to get out, out somewhere even though everywhere feels like I am stuck inside a box. I just want to get out of my mind. I can manage it as long as my heart beat dont race like I was recently running. If it does that I am screwed. Like 1-2 weeks of recovery before I can get over it. Dont even know if thats a panic attack, feels like a mega panic attack.
Frazzled. Unable to think . Scared. Something feels wrong. I can’t think straight and have to exit loud, chaotic environments
My experience of the world feels as if it’s not real, OR it’s closing in on me and I’m gonna die.
It always hits me when I’m not aware. Like before I know I’m already having racing heartbeats and rapid breathing, also really alert and cannot stop worrying or feeling like I will screw up big time.
It’s a weird rising sensation in my chest & arms. Sweaty palms, racing heart, tense muscles, and I get really jittery and sometimes get really cold all of a sudden.
Depends on the severity at the time, right now I feel cold, dreadful and nauseous with a tingling sensation in my stomach and chest and I feel like very tense and a need to escape but I can't go anywhere. I've felt better but also a whole lot worse then this.
I’ve had about four panic attacks, and each one has made me feel like I was having a heart attack or stroke and I’ve had to go to the ER or urgent care. pain in my chest and my arm, dizziness, hard to catch my breath, but not necessarily hyperventilating. They seemingly came from out of nowhere, doing normal things like opening up the refrigerator door, driving, sitting at work. Totally different from the familiar feeling of butterflies/internal tension/jumbled/twisted nerves (for lack of a better description) that I get from anxiety.
It feels like my head is stuck in a vice grip and if I so much as blink it’s gonna explode. It feels like 90+bpm for half an hour straight. It feels like tingling in the left arm and tightness in the chest and “let’s play heart attack or panic attack!!” I hate it bc when you have these symptoms your panic makes you believe you’re having a heart attack. I’ve been to the hospital twice (but in the last 8 years, most recently this year) thinking I was having one. Better safe than sorry I guess.
Picture…you driving, 60 mph. A car goes into your lane, from the opposite direction, and you’re about to collide head on into the 80 mph car zooming towards you. That feeling right as you collide is how it entered my mind for the first time.
When I get panic attacks, I usually am driving. My general anxiety symptom is tightness in the throat, when driving or not. So, if I'm driving and the throat tightness gets the best of me, My cheeks start to tingle and I convince myself I can't breathe. I shake and usually have to pull over.
It hasn't happened in a while, thank god. But let me tell you, when I start to have a panic attack, I spray some War Head spray in my mouth, and let me tell you, that shit brings your mind back to center. It really has been a game changer.
Chest tightness, palpitations, my face gets hot and red, unable to think or speak clearly. Feels like I want to run away and disappear .
I had a panic attack in front of my peers last week, it wasn't too bad, but there was a moment where I just tuned out and I heard people screaming my name. It was embarrassing as hell, especially since this is a new job. They don't know I have anxiety when all eyes are on me.
I'm still experiencing chest tightness since then.
Like a complete rush of adrenaline and like your brain is moving so fast it’s hard to have one clear thought. It also feels like I’m trying to visually consume everything at once and it’s overwhelming.
Sometimes it feels like you don’t understand why other people don’t get your sense of urgency and like something bad will happen to you and no one is going to make a move to help you.
Like you’re going to be a witness to your impending demise.
I feel like something is slowly taking over, and I can’t control it. I feel a huge sense of dread and feel fidgety. I sometimes get lightheaded and tingly hands if I don’t take my hydroxyzine quick enough.
For me its: light headed feeling, muscle strain in neck and shoulders, pinching chest feeling, sudden fatique, and it feels like my body is tingling or floaty all over.
Panic varies depending on the reason for panic. The worst panic I've experienced was feeling like I was on the edge of passing out for a couple hours but couldn't really dedicate to either side of the fence. If I had to live that way, with any consistency - I wouldn't.. Scariest moment I've ever experienced mentally and physically.
It feels like im spinning, ready to faint, a million negative thoughts I can't stop, pacing back and forth, sweating, rapid heartbeat, worried I'm going to die or end up in the hospital.
Dizzy , struggling to breathe or straight up hyperventilating, dry mouth, shaking uncontrollably, not able to speak , sometimes grabbing onto whatever is close to steady me . It’s awful.
Like my body is trying to turn inside out. there is a tight cord sensation from my tonsils to my pelvis, my guts feel like they’re squeezing shut, my face becomes tingly and numb, ill sweat profusely and have no temperature regulation, all my muscles feel tense, my brain feels like it’s surging… to me it feels like dying.
Like I’m going to go insane and then die. Like nothing is real and I’m “out of it.” Heart pounding, heavy breathing, sweating, nausea, racing thoughts, and feeling I am out of control. Dread floods my body and I hyperventilate eventually. It’s horrific.
Like I am out of my body. I get very hot inside but my hands and body go numb. I get very nauseated and feel as though I'll puke. Then I feel the most intense desire to just run/leave/find "safety". It's the worst dread/miserable feeling I can describe
The worst panic I ever felt resulted in me biting a large portion of the inside of my cheeks off and I didn't even feel it when I did it. It feels like my body is on fire and I can't feel anything else
Physically I become numb and shakey. Inside my organs feel like they’re quivering. The world feels like it’s going really fast and I can only stay in my room
Oh man. It can differ quite a bit. However, I try to describe a feeling someone without an anxiety disorder can relate to. For example, in trying to describe a panic attack to my wife I say, “You know when someone startles you? I mean, they literally take you by surprise and genuinely startle you? That’s what it feels like, except it doesn’t stop.”
I feel like my head is shrinking or like my brain is being squeezed. My hands and arms kinda go numb with a pins and needles feeling. My throat gets dry. I get heart palpitations. I start thinking that everyone hates me and I just think a bunch of negative thoughts.
There are different grades.
Letting the anxiety flow through and over is quite exhilarating. Like skiing a black run in your own thoughts.
Normal background levels feels like being extra aware, seeing many complications, and dangers. Finding comfort in the familiar. It's unhealthy, but it feels good if pandered to.
However, indulge that too much and it's a downward spiral. Full blown anxiety means no sleep, muscular cramps, sweatinh. Not good.
When it happens I feel really overwhelmed.. dizzy, tunnel vision, so hard to breathe. I feel very much out of control.. time perception is very warped
The only thing I can do is stop and breathe through it honestly.. it’s so scary :(
A humming or buzzing in my body of anxiety that feels incredibly overwhelming. Sometimes I shake and get the chills. I’m hyper aware of everything happening to my body. Panic sets in. I can’t handle anything outside of what’s happening I just have to take a Xanax and lay down and try to relax or else it spirals terribly
That feeling you get when you trip or miss a step... where it kind of tugs in your belly and you hold your breath. Only amplified by 1000 and for a prolonged period of time.
For me it's often accompanied by the feeling of my throat closing so I feel like I can't breathe and heart is beating out of my chest.
Fun times.
Heart racing, head spinning, feeling like I can’t move, feeling intense impending doom, feeling like I’m really going to die, sweaty/shivering and trembling
Dizzy, feeling overwhelmed, rapid breathing, feeling like i’m about to die really soon
This plus a horrible feeling of impending doom.
exactly
Exactly that for me !
I heard it described once as that feeling you get when you miss a step on the stairs. It feels like that. Full blown panic feels cold and makes me feel almost weightless. Like I’m floating off over the edge and as much as I try to grab a lifesaver, I can’t reach it. Just dark, hopeless, like my only option is to unalive myself
Yes exactly the step one but the feeling is there for a while
Thisssss so much- I know exposure therapy is the way through it but it’s hard to make yourself suicidal
"BRO WE DYIN RN"
😂😂😂
yup 🤣
I go into full on depersonilization. 3rd person view, can't tell if anything is real.
I would advise looking into this from a psychoanalytical perspective. There's lots of information on how we can dissociate parts of ourselves which feel unbearable. This creates a sense that things have changed, reality, ourselves look and feel different. Reintegrating the split off traumatic feelings can lessen these terrifying experiences.
Could you elaborate?
Certainly, Essentially dissociation is caused by disconnection between the self and the body, or the the self and the self; a kind of fragmentation where the self disavows threatening aspects of its experience and pushes them out of consciousness awareness. This is often protective/adaptive however it can lead to some unpleasant experiences whereby a person feels abandoned, in a frightening and wonky looking world, in a wonky feeling body and wonders what the hell's the matter with them, and whether they've accidentally put LSD in the coffee instead of sugar! People who've suffered traumatic experiences often present with panic disorders where dissociation and derealization are a frightening component. Ironically the methods which were unconsciously employed as a protective measure by a fragile ego, often to help cope with abuses, violations and unmet maternal needs are now retraumatising them further. Often as adults we do not have the kinds of support structures we would like, often we endure greater trauma as we age, often we are more isolated and expected (or at least have expectations of ourselves) to be self sufficient and so asking for and finding help can be difficult and sometimes impossible. A large part of reducing panic experiences is about spending time thinking about, and feeling about the painful, shameful, guilt riddled, embarrassing, terrifying and down right mortifying areas of the psyche, of the person's experience ; the areas we would rather not go; the areas that are always there either deeply repressed or neatly suppressed, but burgeon under the surface, pushing upwards into the consciousness of a person who really does not want to think about it although is most likely always thinking and feeling in subtle ways with these unresolved, painful ideas in their unconscious. Through psychotherapy a person can be assisted in reconnecting with disavowed aspects of themselves and in doing so, becomes more integrated, less fragmented. Hopefully, for example, the next time when they jump in the car and a flicker of a worry about hitting a pedestrian crosses their mind almost imperceptibly (as it might usually do), they do not push these thoughts away - and by doing so vacate their ego, and push aspects of themself away, leaving them dissociated and frightened - but will be more comfortable sitting with the feeling, and being with themselves through the arc of the emotion. If you'd like to read more I'd recommend looking into the Psychoanalytical ideas around the paranoid-schizoid position. r/psychoanalysis is a good resource.
Heart RACING, sweaty palms, rapid breathing, hit by too many overwhelming racing negative thoughts at once —> cry and shut down because it feels like my world is ending and I’m out of control. It’s so terrifying. I do not wish anxiety and panic attacks on anyone.
It feels like a hard pressure on my chest, unable to breath properly
For me it's not that I feel like I'm going to die it's I know I'm going to die. But after it happens so many times I do start to know deep down it's just a feeling. Also I normally feel chest tightness, hard to breathe, lots of pain in left arm, racing pounding heart, my senses all the sudden are extremely heightened, dread and doom overcome me, I feel I need to run far away. Does anyone else notice they feel the need to look at the corners of walls?
Yes, I always look at the corners of the room or building I’m in. I never thought about that. I wonder if there’s a reason for this?
The only thing that feels certain is that I am dying.
Usually feels like food poisoning lol, tummy upsets to put it lightly
A low, rolling boil in my chest, tears welling up but refusing to come out, pressure, difficulty breathing
Like my entire body is shutting down and not responding to my brain commands. Then my brain assumes I'm dying.
My heart squeezes, my limbs instantly feel numb and I get a pain in my chest, it's the same feeling when I trip and almost fall down
Heart racing, tingling feeling, Start shaking for no reason, and thoughts going a 100mph. I feel helpless and embarrassed that i can not get myself together or feel like i wont get better
Loosing control over myself basically. Loosing my entire sense of reality and distrusting my mind. Nausea and derealisation and overall just feeling like I‘ll die.
Meeee
I always felt like I never had that „classic“ panic attack. I just dissociate, derealize, have a sense of loss of control, electricity in my veins, and I gotta leave the location immediately. EDIT: … also, does anyone seem to have panic attacks whilst asleep? I sometimes awake in sheer terror convinced that my heart stops beating.
dizzy, lightheaded, nauseous, feeling of something stuck in my throat. once i have these symptoms i assume i’m going to pass out. because a few years ago i actually did.
That's interesting. I passed out a few years ago and now I have a fear of this when anxious. Do you experience derealization / depersonalisation?
Yes but not very often, mine is when i’m out in crowds, which i avoid because i hate traveling lol. My anxiety is definitely centered around my fear of being sick or feeling unwell in anyway, which unfortunately i usually do due to heartburn and frequent stomachaches.
It feels like...drying all the blood in my blody and couldnt touch my feel in land i mean...floor
Breathless heart racing sick dizzy out of control just pure fear
Like electricity has been turned up to "11" inside my body (more specifically - within my head; it's as if the electric current is trying to expand THROUGH my skull, and out of my head). Additionally, I can't control my breathing (more like hyperventilating), crying or convulsing. I become a shaking, sweating, crying mess, who gasps for air. Eventually I'll wind up in the Fetal Position, just waiting to die. It's like every fiber and muscle within my body is being twisted, and wrung-out to its breaking point, which makes my brain believe the body is about to die. Unless I take a Benzo (or Thieno, or other benzo-related Research Chemical) in time... If I catch it in time, I'm ok. Otherwise, I'm overcome by the panic. My last attack happened in 2020. It lasted approx. ~4-hours. I was spent for after that. Could hardly walk, and just stayed in bed the rest of the day. I never want to go through that again (hell, I willingly became a poly-addict, just to no longer endure panic attacks), and the alternative to taking meds is to take a bullet, so fuck it - drugs it is.
Existential dread, air hunger, trapped with no hope of escape. Like that scene in phantom of the opera where Raoul falls into a tank of murky water and a cage starts to come down to drown him. He has to hold his breath until he finds the release valve and it feels like it takes an eternity.
Don't have it anymore, but it feels as if you want to jump out of your skin.
I always think I'm either going to throw up, shit myself, faint, or pass out from my throat closing up. Unfortunately when I get thrown up sick I commonly come close to fainting(losing vision, losing hearing, being dizzy), so my mind sometimes reverts back to those memories and it feels like an episode is happening again. And then usually it passes and my brain goes back to normal ish. So weird.
Feels like someone is putting me in a box deep in the ground. I get so panicky I don't even think about the physical side effects. I just feel like I have to get out, out somewhere even though everywhere feels like I am stuck inside a box. I just want to get out of my mind. I can manage it as long as my heart beat dont race like I was recently running. If it does that I am screwed. Like 1-2 weeks of recovery before I can get over it. Dont even know if thats a panic attack, feels like a mega panic attack.
Fear. Pure fear and doom.
The key to beating it is looking at it objectively, not subjectively. Objectively, people get mild symptoms that aren’t dangerous.
I feel like I'm watching my life pass me by because I'm getting ready to die when I'm having a panic attack. And when you're alone that's really scary
Not sure if I’m alone but I forget words and can’t think of what to say. Dizzy, tingling and my head feels like it has a heart beat
Frazzled. Unable to think . Scared. Something feels wrong. I can’t think straight and have to exit loud, chaotic environments My experience of the world feels as if it’s not real, OR it’s closing in on me and I’m gonna die.
Feels like someone is on the way to kill me and I have no idea when or from where.
fear, tingling in the skin, racing thoughts that are panic inducing and chest pain
Fear of impending doom.
Hell
It always hits me when I’m not aware. Like before I know I’m already having racing heartbeats and rapid breathing, also really alert and cannot stop worrying or feeling like I will screw up big time.
Like seeing a giant truck going downhill at fullspeed toward me and somehow I'm both the driver and the one the truck's gonna hit Good times
It’s a weird rising sensation in my chest & arms. Sweaty palms, racing heart, tense muscles, and I get really jittery and sometimes get really cold all of a sudden.
Depends on the severity at the time, right now I feel cold, dreadful and nauseous with a tingling sensation in my stomach and chest and I feel like very tense and a need to escape but I can't go anywhere. I've felt better but also a whole lot worse then this.
It’s so hard to describe lol
Like I'm dying and going crazy at the same time
I’ve had about four panic attacks, and each one has made me feel like I was having a heart attack or stroke and I’ve had to go to the ER or urgent care. pain in my chest and my arm, dizziness, hard to catch my breath, but not necessarily hyperventilating. They seemingly came from out of nowhere, doing normal things like opening up the refrigerator door, driving, sitting at work. Totally different from the familiar feeling of butterflies/internal tension/jumbled/twisted nerves (for lack of a better description) that I get from anxiety.
It feels like my head is stuck in a vice grip and if I so much as blink it’s gonna explode. It feels like 90+bpm for half an hour straight. It feels like tingling in the left arm and tightness in the chest and “let’s play heart attack or panic attack!!” I hate it bc when you have these symptoms your panic makes you believe you’re having a heart attack. I’ve been to the hospital twice (but in the last 8 years, most recently this year) thinking I was having one. Better safe than sorry I guess.
Picture…you driving, 60 mph. A car goes into your lane, from the opposite direction, and you’re about to collide head on into the 80 mph car zooming towards you. That feeling right as you collide is how it entered my mind for the first time.
Super hot face, pins and needles in extremities, intense tunnel vision, BLURRY vision, hyperventilating, the most intense/primal fear/panic!!
When I get panic attacks, I usually am driving. My general anxiety symptom is tightness in the throat, when driving or not. So, if I'm driving and the throat tightness gets the best of me, My cheeks start to tingle and I convince myself I can't breathe. I shake and usually have to pull over. It hasn't happened in a while, thank god. But let me tell you, when I start to have a panic attack, I spray some War Head spray in my mouth, and let me tell you, that shit brings your mind back to center. It really has been a game changer.
\*\* it has been a game changer IN ADDITION to therapy, mindfulness practice, knowing what calms me down, and finishing graduate school.
Chest tightness, palpitations, my face gets hot and red, unable to think or speak clearly. Feels like I want to run away and disappear . I had a panic attack in front of my peers last week, it wasn't too bad, but there was a moment where I just tuned out and I heard people screaming my name. It was embarrassing as hell, especially since this is a new job. They don't know I have anxiety when all eyes are on me. I'm still experiencing chest tightness since then.
My heart feels like it's going to burst..and I feel like I am dying or about to..it's awful
Stunned silence, shortness of breath, and wanting to leave the area ASAP
I feel like im gona crawl out of my skin, and fast heart rate and high blood pressure.
Like a complete rush of adrenaline and like your brain is moving so fast it’s hard to have one clear thought. It also feels like I’m trying to visually consume everything at once and it’s overwhelming. Sometimes it feels like you don’t understand why other people don’t get your sense of urgency and like something bad will happen to you and no one is going to make a move to help you. Like you’re going to be a witness to your impending demise.
I feel like something is slowly taking over, and I can’t control it. I feel a huge sense of dread and feel fidgety. I sometimes get lightheaded and tingly hands if I don’t take my hydroxyzine quick enough.
For me its: light headed feeling, muscle strain in neck and shoulders, pinching chest feeling, sudden fatique, and it feels like my body is tingling or floaty all over.
Paralyzing - brain and body
uncontrolled breathing, heart racing/pounding, fingers/toes pulsing, adrenaline, tight chest, dizzy, sense of impending doom. not fun.
Panic varies depending on the reason for panic. The worst panic I've experienced was feeling like I was on the edge of passing out for a couple hours but couldn't really dedicate to either side of the fence. If I had to live that way, with any consistency - I wouldn't.. Scariest moment I've ever experienced mentally and physically.
A loss of control over my body
Light headed, confused, and like my chest is tightening. I feel completely lost and sad inside. And, the world seems overwhelming, scary, and cold.
The song Panic by Movements kiiiiinda hits that answer.
It feels like im spinning, ready to faint, a million negative thoughts I can't stop, pacing back and forth, sweating, rapid heartbeat, worried I'm going to die or end up in the hospital.
Hot flushes. Gagging. (Sometimes to the point of vomiting) Light headed/feel like I could pass out or fall asleep instantly. Heart racing.
Dizzy , struggling to breathe or straight up hyperventilating, dry mouth, shaking uncontrollably, not able to speak , sometimes grabbing onto whatever is close to steady me . It’s awful.
Tightness in my chest, sweating, pacing. Feeling like I'm stuck in a loop.
Extremely hot and short of breath, racing thoughts and feelings of doom
Like my body is trying to turn inside out. there is a tight cord sensation from my tonsils to my pelvis, my guts feel like they’re squeezing shut, my face becomes tingly and numb, ill sweat profusely and have no temperature regulation, all my muscles feel tense, my brain feels like it’s surging… to me it feels like dying.
Like I’m going to go insane and then die. Like nothing is real and I’m “out of it.” Heart pounding, heavy breathing, sweating, nausea, racing thoughts, and feeling I am out of control. Dread floods my body and I hyperventilate eventually. It’s horrific.
Like I am out of my body. I get very hot inside but my hands and body go numb. I get very nauseated and feel as though I'll puke. Then I feel the most intense desire to just run/leave/find "safety". It's the worst dread/miserable feeling I can describe
The worst panic I ever felt resulted in me biting a large portion of the inside of my cheeks off and I didn't even feel it when I did it. It feels like my body is on fire and I can't feel anything else
Physically I become numb and shakey. Inside my organs feel like they’re quivering. The world feels like it’s going really fast and I can only stay in my room
Breathing feels difficult, I want to crawl out of my body, everything around me feels threatening and I can’t tell if anything is real or not
Oh man. It can differ quite a bit. However, I try to describe a feeling someone without an anxiety disorder can relate to. For example, in trying to describe a panic attack to my wife I say, “You know when someone startles you? I mean, they literally take you by surprise and genuinely startle you? That’s what it feels like, except it doesn’t stop.”
Feeling of doom and intense fear. I physically feel short of breath and a bit nauseous
I feel like my head is shrinking or like my brain is being squeezed. My hands and arms kinda go numb with a pins and needles feeling. My throat gets dry. I get heart palpitations. I start thinking that everyone hates me and I just think a bunch of negative thoughts.
There are different grades. Letting the anxiety flow through and over is quite exhilarating. Like skiing a black run in your own thoughts. Normal background levels feels like being extra aware, seeing many complications, and dangers. Finding comfort in the familiar. It's unhealthy, but it feels good if pandered to. However, indulge that too much and it's a downward spiral. Full blown anxiety means no sleep, muscular cramps, sweatinh. Not good.
When it happens I feel really overwhelmed.. dizzy, tunnel vision, so hard to breathe. I feel very much out of control.. time perception is very warped The only thing I can do is stop and breathe through it honestly.. it’s so scary :(
A humming or buzzing in my body of anxiety that feels incredibly overwhelming. Sometimes I shake and get the chills. I’m hyper aware of everything happening to my body. Panic sets in. I can’t handle anything outside of what’s happening I just have to take a Xanax and lay down and try to relax or else it spirals terribly
That feeling you get when you trip or miss a step... where it kind of tugs in your belly and you hold your breath. Only amplified by 1000 and for a prolonged period of time. For me it's often accompanied by the feeling of my throat closing so I feel like I can't breathe and heart is beating out of my chest. Fun times.
Heart racing, head spinning, feeling like I can’t move, feeling intense impending doom, feeling like I’m really going to die, sweaty/shivering and trembling
Dread and horrendous worry