Ah, I had wondered! I always thought mine was strange too. However, when I look into Byzantine's links, I find that I have at least 7 of the criteria for a panic attack. Only 4 are needed. Your thread actually prompted me to look further into it last night, and I found something really interesting!

Apparently there is such a thing as Non-Fearful Panic Disorder. It's just that most people who get treated for panic attacks are doing so because of the fear, so it's not very well known. It also seems somewhat controversial right now. I found a study about it online: http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/...t/41/4/311.pdf

The thing is that mine are associated with intense anxiety though. Just not fear. And I can be made worse if the triggering stimuli gets more severe throughout my attack. However, after I'm over the threshold I'm gone, and I have to go through the episode and come out the other side. It's also lasted far more than ten minutes before when the stimuli continued. I've had the entire process take up to an hour before - usually because I'm fighting early on not to go over the edge. Once the hyperventilation starts it's all over.

And I have a lot of trouble explaining this stuff sometimes. My mind's never really clear either. But... I can form a coherent thought, ya know? Like I can speak in my mind, but not out loud. I get the blank fuzziness too... get it a lot actually. My mind's always in that state to some extent, but these attacks make it so much worse. A lot of the time I just lay there wishing it would end. However, I know I'm not going to die and I don't have any overwhelming paranoid thoughts unless the stimuli is focused that way for some reason. I just started calling them 'anxiety attacks' 'cause I didn't like the panic focus.