What Are Symptoms of Anxiety Panic Attack

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety grips the lives of 18.1% of the US adult population, with women being 60% more likely to suffer from an anxiety disorder than men. Unfortunately for those affected, only 36.9% of these people are receiving treatment.

There are about 8 different categories of anxiety disorders. Many of them have the common symptom of a panic attack. Many people confuse panic attacks with other physical ailments (heart attacks, asthma attacks). Here are the symptoms of a panic attack:

• Increase in heart rate
• Sweating
• Shaking or trembling
• Trouble breathing or shortness of  breath
• Feeling as if choking
• Chest pain
• Nausea or upset stomach
• Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, as if one might faint
• Feeling as if you are losing touch with reality or being “outside” oneself
• Fear of losing control or as if one is going crazy
• Fear of dying
• Numbness of tingling
• Chills or hot flashes

These symptoms are common in most anxiety disorders. Because some of the symptoms mimic heart attack or other physical ailments, it is a good idea to seek treatment from a trained professional if you experience some of these symptoms in order to get an accurate diagnosis and be sure that you are not in physical danger.

Be sure to look for our follow-up post where we will discuss the different categories of anxiety disorders and how Lotus Group can assist with counseling in these areas.

Majority of the information presented to this point has been taken from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), (1994).