Panic attack?
So I've been suffering with anxiety for a while now and I have spoken to my GP etc. and I'm having therapy but I had an exam yesterday and it really freaked me out because it wasn't like my normal anxiety symptoms. Towards the end I started to breath really quickly, my fingernails turned blue, my hands were shaking and my fingers had gone numb/tingly, my heart was racing and I was sweating. I didn't feel like I was going to die or anything but I had this like really strong feeling of wanting to run away. I guess my question is was it just really bad anxiety or was it something like a panic attack. Usually I just have like a tight chest and breath quickly but nothing like this before.
Original post by Anonymous
So I've been suffering with anxiety for a while now and I have spoken to my GP etc. and I'm having therapy but I had an exam yesterday and it really freaked me out because it wasn't like my normal anxiety symptoms. Towards the end I started to breath really quickly, my fingernails turned blue, my hands were shaking and my fingers had gone numb/tingly, my heart was racing and I was sweating. I didn't feel like I was going to die or anything but I had this like really strong feeling of wanting to run away. I guess my question is was it just really bad anxiety or was it something like a panic attack. Usually I just have like a tight chest and breath quickly but nothing like this before.
Sorry to hear you are struggling with this. It certainly sounds like a panic attack - essentially, panic attacks are just a stater of hyper-arousal, usually caused by anxiety. They can be scary, but they are generally not dangerous. As you are already in therapy, I would suggest speaking to your therapist about this, as they will help you uncover what causes this intense anxiety and figure out ways of coping with it.
