For you, whats the scariest symptom of a panic attack?

I've suffered from these for years now and I'm always interested to hear how they affect other people. My close family suffer from them too and they only ever seem to get the physical symptoms like a churning stomach, pounding heart, dizziness etc whereas I get the physical symptoms yes but for me, the worst symptoms are the horrible impending death and doom feeling. I don't get those with every panic attack, only the major, earth shattering ones. I used to think I was the only one who felt those feelings during an attack as its only ever the physical symptoms you hear about usually.

The impending death and doom feeling is horrible and it seems to make the attack feel never ending and even once the panic has gone, I still find it hard to shake off that fear of death and doom feeling for hours, maybe even days after a bad panic attack. Sometimes I've found the aftermath to be worse than the actual attack because my anxiety remains so high and I feel spacey, knackered, almost drugged like and that can last days. Physical symptom wise I would say the pounding heart is the worst. I feel like it just going to burst through my chest or just suddenly stop beating and I'll die. Feels like it'll never stop pounding. That horrible feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach is horrible too

Thought this thread would be good for discussing panic attacks as you often worry your symptoms are often something more serious than anxiety and can make you feel alone.
Posted from TSR Mobile

don't suffer from panic attacks but omg y'all that sounds horrible!
y'all are warriors
Stay strong!!

For me panic attacks are both physical and intellectual. I feel dizzy and tired and i get either boiling hot or freezing cold, i then start to shake and cannot talk, my throat is dry and its impossible to talk. Intellectually i feel like im a huge mistake and get extremely paranoid on other people watching me or judging me.
Honestly its horrible... its like pain and thoughts all at once...its almost like some sort of hallucinogenic

I think I find the mental feelings that come with a panic worse than any physical symptom because I have OCD and its quite severe and the obsessions I have relate to things like death, doom, illness etc and I find it hard to shake off thought intrusive thoughts so the fear I feel during a panic becomes an intrusive obsession and thought and only adds to the OCD obsessions I already have. I'm waiting for therapy for OCD and I'm hoping once I get that under control, I won't have any more panics. I still get panic attacks every day and have done for the last 4 years but for me personally, as hellish as they are, they are nothing compared to OCD.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Every day?! Good god! I feel really sorry for you

I've only had a couple, which were both this year and have triggered anxiety problems. But I see I've got off quite lightly now.

Mine started with just one out the blue and quickly it progressed to I got them at set times such as being in crowds, being on public transport, while eating etc to the point I became housebound for six months because of them. It developed that quickly for me over the course of a few months. I am a lot better now though. I'm no longer housebound at all and the panics I get aren't really too bad now, its mostly the OCD that gets to me but every day I get minor to moderate panics and maybe a major one, once or twice a week.

I'm glad they haven't got worse for you. They are truly terrifying. I read one of yours happened while driving, a lot of mine happened while driving too. I haven't drove since

Posted from TSR Mobile

Worst is when I feel like I cant even look at anyone or anything because I'm shaking too much and I cant breathe. especially my head. it shakes when I'm anxious it looks like I have tourettes.

Very true.. i find looking at things and touching objects helps recognize my surroundings, just a tip, wont work for everyone xx

When do you guys tend to have your panic attacks? I've only had a few major ones over the past few years but they've all been at night when I'm in bed. Always means I get almost no sleep for the rest of the night and feel horrific the next day. Glad I have Propranolol in the drawer next to my bed, they're crap for general anxiety but an excellent abortive for panic attacks tbf

Anyway, worst bit has got to be the impending feelings of "Oh God, I sort of hope this is another panic attack and not a heart attack or something" Just the feelings of not being able to breathe and my heart thudding against my chest are the worst physical symptoms.

Mine used to be predictable like I would only get them when on public transport, in crowds etc but since I can go into town, go on buses and all that jazz now, mine just seem to come on at random times now. I seem to get them more at home than outside now. I could just be sitting there feeling fine then "boom!" it hits me and then other times I can maybe feel one building up throughout the day and then it hits me like a tonne of bricks at night usually. The worst panics I've ever had happened at night and ever since I've always felt my anxiety get higher at night which sucks as it gets dark so early now! I always feel rough the day after a bad panic too. Sometimes it can take me a few days to 'recover' from a bad one. I feel shattered, drugged and not just right. Its hard to explain.

I've been prescribed propranolol so many times but I've always been too scared to take them. I took valium once and that made me feel more anxious because feeling calm made me scared as I was so used to panicking if that makes sense?! Lol. I got given antidepressants when I first got panics but they didn't agree with me and I haven't took any meds for anxiety since.