Panic Attack Symptoms

I wrote a short book a while back about instant methods to control panic attacks. (Here is the link if you haven’t already come across it). This book was really about the ‘here and now’ and being able to take immediate action to start living again. However, since controlling my panic attacks I have needed more and more information to understand them.

Now, if I feel just the slightest of jitters I need to stop and understand why I am feeling this. At the worst times I was simply happy to be able to stop them. I have spoken to friends who have panic attacks and they feel the same. (I didn’t meet these people in a forum or meetings – I just know a lot of people and it is amazing how many of them suffer or have suffered panic attacks, it just took one of us to talk about it and suddenly we discovered that we were all hiding them).

Anyway, the result is that I have decided to write a new book. I have looked online to remind myself what is out there. I have just been reminded why coping with panic attacks can be so hard – if I actually ever met the authors of some of these articles I would actually like to poke their eyes out (and I am not a naturally violent person).

It makes me angry to read ‘you may feel some pain in your chest’ – WRONG. Anyone who has suffered a panic attack will know that you DO feel the pain in your chest. It is not something you have imagined it is REAL.

The other one which really gets to me is ‘You may believe that you are having a heart attack’ – WRONG AGAIN. I really DID believe I was having a heart attack.

So, below is a list of the things I DID feel. They were not in my mind – I could feel them:

Tingling – often in the fingers or toes but sometimes the whole arms and legs.

Headaches – very intense, burning headaches. Often these started at the base of the head and felt like they are going up into my brain. Sometimes, more often at night, they were stabbing pains either deep behind the eyes or across the temples. They were so painful they blurred vision my vision.

Chest pain – a tightness around my chest which had waves of intensity which were crippling.

Tightness in the throat – swallowing felt impossible and breathing hurt.

Sweating – hot and cold flushes leading to sweating which resembled the symptoms of a fever. Often happening at same time every night.

Trembling – simply holding my hand steady in front of me was impossible.

Numbness – this can appear anywhere, but the ends of the fingers was where mine usually occurred.

General aches and pain – this is really an overall feeling of being unwell, of having no energy and not being able to function.
There you go – those are things I felt. These are not symptoms which I thought I felt!

Sorry, rant over – I will keep you updated on the book.