In trying to understand the symptoms of a panic attack there are two steps involved. First, you have to increase your awareness of when anxiety is present and to differentiate it from other emotional problems such as depression. The second point so for you to try and be specific about the type of anxiety you are experiencing. This would be vital so as you receive the correct treatment. Its helpful if you divide the signs and symptoms into four categories :
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:
Headaches
Dizziness,
Insomnia
Fatigue
Trembling
Dry mouth
Aches and pains
Pounding heartbeats.
Nausea
Smothering /choking sensations
Breathlessness, gulping for air
Feelings of unreality
Chest feeling tight
Tense muscles.
BEHAVIOURAL SYMPTOMS
Lack of concentration
Loss of memory
Compulsive behaviour
Restlessness
Lack of motivation
Irritability
Shouts for help
Holding onto objects
Sitting/ lying down
Running away,
Escaping from a situation
EMOTIONS
Apprehension
Dread
Fear of dying
Worry
Tearfulness
Nervousness
Morbid self awareness
Fear of "going crazy"
Panic feelings
Feeling impending doom
THOUGHTS
A dreadful experience will happen shortly
I am going mad
I am trapped /insecure
I can't breathe
I'm going to die
I cannot stay in control of everyday events
INTERPRETATION OF THE SYMPTOMS:
Please don't misinterpret all these symptoms. What you need to do is to get them into perspective as we all have many of these feelings from time to time. Its only when a combination of these symptoms occur and become very severe that you are having a panic attack. Lets say you feel dizzy. This is a symptom of anxiety but it could be due to an ear infection, or high blood pressure, even lack of sleep. Dizziness alone is not an unmistakeable sign of anxiety. In fact no single symptom is. Anxiety symptoms should be looked at in their totality. In interpreting the symptoms you must take into account three variables.
1. The number of symptoms you can recognize in your feelings and experience
2. How long have you experienced these symptoms minutes hours?
3. How intense are they? If you have had this experience for along period of time such as a day or a few days and cannot identify any other cause, then you might just have an anxiety attack.If your symptoms feel very intense , then there is a deep underlying reason for your panic attack which needs further medical or clinical investigation, so ask your GP about it.