Home anxiety attack vs. panic attack

[biblobaggins23]

can someone please tell me the difference between an anxiety attack and panic attack? i looked them up, but i can't seem to tell the difference between the two. is one shorter than the other? clinical or non-clinical? different symptoms? do you have to have GAD to have anxiety attacks or panic attacks? can you have anxiety attacks or panic attacks without GAD?

i do get some attacks (unsure if its panic or anxiety) on certain occasions like public speaking, a deadline, and occassional stressful events. i heard panic attacks are like several minutes or 10 minutes, but mine last a few seconds or 1-2 minutes.

i don't believe that my anxiety is clinical (my grandmother has clincial generalized anxiety disorder and i'm definately not clinical according to me and according to family members in comparison to her). i don't have the symptoms for GAD according to psych websites, i don't believe i need to see a psychiatrist. i don't dread every day situations, have excessive or unrealistic worry about daily events, it definately does not prohibit me from doing everyday things, it doesn't disable me, it hasn't interfered with my relationships, and i don't have any symptoms of GAD lasting for 6 months or longer.

so, i feel i just need some coping mechanisms to help with the feelings of numbness, feeling like i'm choaking on my voice, head rush, fast heart beats when i experience certain things. would i see a behavioral therapist? i feel if i saw my internal medicine doc or a psychiatrist i would get diagnosed and put on meds....so, i believe that some behavioral coping mechanisms might be best for me..

has anyone had experience with this before? does therapy help?

thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

I think they both mean the same thing, so sorry if you are having to put up with them, they are so dreadful.

 

[diamondfan]

I am not sure clinically what the differences are. I think a panic attack can feel more like a physical issue, many people report having symptoms similar to a heart attack, or they cannot breathe or think they are dying, they can feel their heart pounding...and it is acute, meaning it is brought on by something and kind of hits you. An anxiety "attack" would also be acute, but for some reason I think anxiety is also something that can be more chronic and or generalized, while a panic attack seems more likely to be the cause of a specific stressor. Not sure if that is helpful or makes sense

 

[monarch64]

I''m actually a self-diagnosed sufferer of both...they happen to me infrequently enough so I have not been to a doctor about them yet, and they just started about 2 years ago. When I have a panic attack, I literally think I am going to die. I feel like I cannot get enough air, my chest gets all tight and then I can''t swallow, it''s very upsetting and hard to control.

An anxiety attack for me usually happens in anticipation of some event I go to where I know very few people, or in one case it was my 10 yr. high school reunion. Basically in the week or so leading up to the event I start to obsess in my mind over it, then the day before I can''t sleep at all, and the day of I am just an emotional wreck and very nervous and irritable. The difference between the two for me is that with panic attacks I have actual physical symptoms, and the anxiety attacks are more mental stress.

 

[katebar]

biblobaggins23 basicly they are both similar responses but it is the intensity that is different. Anxiety disorders can be categorised on a continum from normal worries right through to panic and agrophobia.
Nomally we become anxious when threatened or when you think about being threatened. For example if I was chased by a dog or was robbed I would experience an anixety response in which the stressor (dog or interview) causes me to got into a physiological state called the flight or fight response. The heart beats fast, there is a need to breathe quickly , you get the cold sweats and shakes. These are all normal changes that will help your body function best if you have to run or fight. and they are caused by your sympathetic nervous system. When the threat or stressor (dog or robber ) were over and we had run away or fought the stressor my body would return to a normal relaxed state. This is a normal response.
However sometimes we get get confused about the stressor and react out of proportion to the event. For example someone that had a phobia about snakes flying or lifts or even public speaking would quickly go into a very intense flight or fight response if they were confronted with their stressor (snakes flying etc) and have an anxiety attack. When the threat had gone they would return to their normal state but you have learnt to fear that situation and will try to avoid it and others like it.
Occasionly these atacks can be so so powerful that the sensations can be very intense and all the symptoms are exagerated for example shortness of breath; dizziness or faintness; increased heart rate or heart palpitations; trembling or shaking; sweating; nausea or ''butterflies'' in the stomach; numbness or tingling; feelings that the things around them are unreal. All the symptoms are terrfying and we may feel like we are having a heart attack or dying. Sometimes these symptoms of panic often appear suddenly and without warning but usually if you look back over a period of time there is an underlying grumbling anxiety or a trigger.
All these symptoms can be managed and controlled by a combination of behavioural techniques which turn on our parasympathetic nervous system which is the body''s calm response, as well as using techniques to change your thoughts or peceptions about the situation that causes you anxiety.
Sometime medication can aso assist.
I would urge you to seek out a doctor psychologist or counsellor who specialises in managing and controlling anxiety.
HTH

 

[poptart]

Bilbobaggins, sorry you have to deal with this. I would also suggest that you see a psychologist, just in case. They might give you some good breathing techniques to work on. I had these same types of attacks before solo performances when I was in high school, and lots of times the fact that you aren''t breathing correctly makes your body kind of freak out. You need to be sure that before you speak you take very deep breaths and concentrate on just breathing rather than what you have to go speak about. Before some of my songs my whole body would feel tingly and numb... my fingers went completely cold, it was scary, but happened because of the anxiety of standing in front of people. Once I learned to breathe deeply and take a cold drink of water I was able to get them under control. Now I no longer get nervous standing in front of crowds.

I also want to stress that this is DIFFERENT than other panic attacks that come out of nowhere. I also used to suffer from those, and would simply be minding my own business, and then all of a sudden some odd thought would cross my mind. Then for no reason I felt like I was having a heart attack, couldn''t breathe, couldn''t think clearly, etc. So if you have a trigger that is setting these responses off, maybe a counselor can just give you some coping techniques and not put you on meds or anything.

*M*

 

[biblobaggins23]

its just weird because i have no symptoms of GAD in everyday life, but just under stressors like public speaking, deadlines, etc i start choaking on my voice and get trembling and such....my mom finds this odd too.

so, are anxiety attacks separate from GAD? if they are not clinical, then its a normal response?

yes, i will be making an appt. with a therapist and maybe i can do toastmasters or something.

thanks everyone!

 

[katebar]

biblobaggins23 you probably don''t have GAD but you are hypersensitive to cetain stimulus situations. For example public speaking (which is one of the most common anxiety provoking events). Most people don''t like public speaking but get through it. Someone that was hypersensitive to public speaking would start worrying about it advance and at the time their ''jitters'' would be much more than the average person who although they did''nt enjoy public speaking would be able to get through it.
Now this does''nt have to such a problem unless in your line of work you have to speak in public on a regular basis and if this was the case having anxiety about public speaking could really impact on your functioning. The good news is this form of anxiety or phobia responds usually very well and quickly to cognitive behaviural therapy.

 

[tulip928]

Another cause for anxiety and panic attacks could be mitral valve prolapse. I went undiagnosed for years. The stress from my job caused me to go to the doctor. On top of the anxiety and a racing heart, I started having chest discomfort. A nurse practitioner heard a murmur and sent me for an echocardiogram which found the mitral valve prolapse. You might want to get checked for it. It''s more common in women and it can be an inherited trait.

 

[firebirdgold]

At least for me it wasn''t too hard to train myself out of it.
I had developed rather bad social phobia and would get severe panic attacks. When my pysch finally figured it out (funny story actually) he gave me zoloft which mitagated the panic attack symptoms. When I stopped having the flight or fight reactions I was able to make myself start doing things I couldn''t have before. I eased into things but within a year I was able to stop taking zoloft and was able to have a far more normal life. Now I''m rather extroverted!

Once you break the phsyical connection you can convince yourself that it''s not going to kill you. I never did any real therapy for the social phobia, just retrained myself.

I''m assuming my mother has GAD. It''s very generalized and she''s very anxious.

She won''t take anything because it might change her personality. (we''ve all managed not to say that that''s the idea!

). She practically radiates anxiety and stress.

So you can have GAD and not have major panic attacks, and you can have major panic attacks and not have GAD!

 

[biblobaggins23]

my grandmother has GAD bad. she gets very anxious towards any sounds, has to make sure all the doors are locked, will cover up anything in the house with tin foil (she once did our whole food cabinet b/c it wasn''t "safe-proof" for bugs ???), we live IN a big city and she saw on the news that their were wildfires in our state and called us up to see if our house was okay but these fires were at the other end of the state, she''s constantly out of breath, she is on edge (always asking questions, maybe acutely paranoid), as a young-adult i remember she would not let me cook in the kitchen and insisted that she make the food, cleans constantly, is afraid of big cites like NYC because she thinks its unsafe, she can''t relax when someone else is driving the car....

i love her so much but she drives us crazy....we stil do stuff with her, but her GAD is distressing our lives and her behavior makes it hard to hang out with her. we have asked her to get help in the most sensitive, nicest way possible, but she cried when we asked her too

i''m starting to think that her shortness of breath, knee issues are some how related to the tension in her body that the GAD causes....

 

[imike24]

No matter what happens. Be positive. What she needs now is more love and understanding from those around her
__________________
penis devicesbest exercisesbest patches
best pillsmen health

 

[biblobaggins23]

thanks imike24....