Does this sound familiar to you?

Well I have always had....what I consider...panic or anxiety attacks. Through HighSchool, any presentation projects and basically anytime I'm put in a situation where I'm being confronted about something that I have even the slightest emotional tie too. ( from breaking up with a boyfriend or talking to my boss about issues at work its uncontrollable really )
I start crying and hyperventilating and I can't breathe and my chest gets tight and I can feel every heart beat so vividly. I am usually alone or with one person and I will just ride it out or sometimes If I am sitting I can just really focus on breathing and it will pass.
ANYWAYS
I have been stressed and having these 'attacks' often recently but they have all been while I am at home alone. Well I went out the other day to a sporting goods store with my boyfriend, he was looking for something so I just walked around and suddenly my chest got tight and my heart started throbbing, so I walked around and tried to look and play with things while I breathed until eventually I just sat down on one of those fold up chairs they have on display and closed my eyes until my
BF was finished.
So when he was I walked straight to the car and just sat there and suddenly he decided he wanted to go to the grocery store, I was feeling better so I agreed to it and as we were walking through the store I felt the tightness and the throbbing and everything was blurry and I was just focused on following my bf through this crowded unfamiliar foggy store and we got to the section he was looking for and told me to pick some things out and he walked away to find something for himself so I just kind of spun around and tried to look but I almost couldn't focus on anything like if i tried to grab it I wouldn't be able to, so I searched for my boyfriend and he was nowhere and I almost just dropped on the floor right there and cried and then all of a sudden he was right there next to me and I just grabbed onto him and glued myself to his side until I felt confident enough to let go.

I want to know basically, was this just an anxiety attack and I am just not used to it being so extreme or if it was something else?

This sounds to me like a horrible panic and anxiety attack. Im so sorry you go through these!

Hi lildevil, welcome to PC! Omg, that sounds just like me! I can't stand confrontations. I can't speak up front where there is more than 2 people present. I always end up panicking And dissociating. I tried anti-anxiety meds, but they numb me which I don't like, so I quit taking them. I just stay away from confrontations, meetings, and anything else like heights.

But if your having them right out of the blue, I'd be calling a GP or a Pdoc to get this condition under control. Good luck with that sweety!

its not exactly familiar but i used to have panic attacks in highschool and they slowly decreased in frequency until about age 20, then stopped, in a 3 year time span i had like 2. it felt amazing.

then about 2 weeks ago i had a horrible panic attack that i didnt realize was a panic attack because it felt nothing like the old ones i used to have. so panic attacks can apparently switch it up. its like a whole new way for your anxiety to convince you its something else, which just leads to more panic.

my old panic attacks felt a little similar to yours but no chest tightening.. i would get dizzy and couldn't focus. but my new panic attacks are very different. initially they make me feel nauseated, then ill feel dizzy, weak, and like im going to pass out. so at first i wasnt SURE if it was actually a panic attack or if something was really wrong.

its most likely JUST a panic attack so please dont worry and stress too much i know its REALLY hard. im borderline having a panic attack as i write this and attempting to convince you that you have nothing to fear is helping. if you have insurance and it makes you feel better maybe you can get some typical blood testing done to ease your mind. just depends on what you feel like you need.

i dont know if you have already heard this but some times saying this phrase to yourself will help "This is not an emergency. I am uncomfortable, but I am not in danger."