Anxiety Attack vs. Panic Attack

How do you know if you're having an anxiety attack or a panic attack?

A panic attack comes on suddenly and it involves fear that often occurs without warning. You can start feeling heart palpitations or dizziness, while anxiety attacks typically build gradually over time, often triggered by a specific stressor or worry about future events. 

Anxiety attacks build over time. They can last for hours, maybe even days. Symptoms are worry, distress, tension, irritability, fatigue, difficulty concentrating. Anxiety attacks build gradually, usually linked to a stressor (e.g., job interview)

Panic attacks strike at any time and are generally more intense and can cause a feeling of losing control or dying. They are short lived and peak within minutes. They are often unexpected and come from out of the blue. A panic attack can include racing heart, chest pain, difficulty breathing, shaking, dizziness, feeling detached, fear of death.

Anxiety and panic attacks can happen at any time, anywhere. Both anxiety and panic attacks can be treated with deep breathing, mindfulness and therapy. 

Panic attacks are sudden, intense surges of fear often without a clear trigger, peaking within 10 minutes with severe physical symptoms like chest pain, choking sensations, or fear of dying. 

Conversely, anxiety attacks generally build gradually in response to stress, lasting longer (minutes to days) with symptoms of worry, tension, and fatigue. Panic attacks are more physically severe, often involving a sense of imminent doom or losing control.

Panic Attack Symptoms

• Physical: Rapid, pounding heart rate, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, numbness/tingling.

• Psychological: Intense fear of dying, losing control, or "going crazy".

• Sensory: Feelings of unreality or detachment (depersonalization). 

  
  

Anxiety Attack (or High Anxiety) Symptoms 

• Physical: Muscle tension, headaches, fatigue.

• Psychological: Excessive worry, irritability, restlessness, racing thoughts. 

  
  

While panic attacks are not inherently dangerous, their symptoms can mimic serious conditions like heart attacks. Seek immediate help if you are unsure if symptoms are a panic attack, especially if this is your first experience with these sensations. Chronic, frequent panic attacks may indicate panic disorder, which can be treated with therapy and medication. 

I had a panic attack while in Mexico when I was ziplining. I don’t know what came over me. I’m not afraid of heights, but for some reason that last part of the course and knowing I had to rappel down to the ground from a platform made me panic. It was weird to be in that situation since nothing had happened prior to that and hasn’t happened since. Maybe I had a mental block and my body just didn't know how to react in that situation, but all was good and I made it off the platform. 

If you have panic and anxiety attacks often, there are ways to get them under control. Talk to your doctor. Talk to other people who have experience with attacks and see what they do to help them. It will take some time to find something that works. It doesn’t hurt to reach out and get advice on what to do just in case it happens again.