Is it a panic attack?

20y/o F

occasionally, i get some weird episodes and i'm not sure if they are panic attacks or something else. the episodes generally last no longer than 10-15 minutes, i get really freaked out, my heart rate greatly increases, it causes me to sweat, i get hot flashes, and sometimes a little light headed, i havent been able to pinpoint exactly triggers them because it doesnt happen in just 1 certain place. but i get visions sort of. i remember one of the first few times it happened, i was very young dont remember exactly what age but definatly under 10 years old and i lived on the bottom floor of a 2 story apartment complex.. sometimes when i would hear the people walking upstairs or making any kind of noise on the floor i would get incredibly paranoid and feel like it was going to cave in on me, and i know that sounds really stupid but it wasnt just once, it followed me growing up and i have noticed most often that they occur when im watching television or a movie and i see violence like guns or any kind of weapon, i get incredibly paranoid and feel like whats going on in the screen is happening to me and i envision someone stabbing, shooting, beating, ect. me and i feel like i gotta run out of the building to escape but feel like if i did , nowhere is safe, if i were to go outside i would envision trees, or buildings collapsing on me. these episodes normally dont happen too frequently (approx. 1 every few months) but last summer i noticed they were definatly more frequent sometimes 2-3 a week. i have never been diagnosed with any mental disorder but im not sure ive ever been tested. i saw a counselor once but i never told him about this, i never knew how to explain it before , i havent told many people about it. im not on any medications and i dont use any other drugs. if anyone has any idea what it might be, your input would definatly be appriciated, thanks

It sounds like this is something worth discussing with a counselor, star. When something is happening inside you that you have no control over, it can be scary. But you seem to recognize some sort of pattern here, you recognize it when it happens, you have that on your side. No one here can diagnose you, that's up to a trained professional. But I can tell you that something similar used to happen to me (still does, though rarely now) and I was medicated at that point for anxiety. I'm sure this sounds familiar to a lot of us. Don't be afraid to see a counsellor, or talk to your doctor about this.
Keep posting!

Star I have recently been in a group for managing anxiety and what you talk about definatly sounds like a pannic attack. The things you said (my heart rate greatly increases, it causes me to sweat, i get hot flashes, and sometimes a little light headed) are all signs of increased anxiety and is very commin in pannic attacks.

Also you said (sometimes when i would hear the people walking upstairs or making any kind of noise on the floor i would get incredibly paranoid and feel like it was going to cave in on me) This is called Catastophising (spelling?) What this bascially means is you automatically asume something really bad is going to happen. Id go talk to your GP or a counciller about it.

There are a number of great treatment approaches out there for anxiety problems such as medication, special strategys for coping and beating axiety (there is a name for this but i honestly cant remember) also hypnotherapy could also be considered. Hypnotherapy may sound weird to you but i know of a guy who was suffering from some really bad anxiety and pannic problems and it helped him really well.

There is hope out there for you and i am almost certain that it is anxiety / pannic you are experiencing. Just talk to your doctor about it and if he agrees it is anxiety im sure things will turn out fine for you. There are many really good ways to treat anxiety. Let me know how you go

Roy

Hi Star,

I agree with Roy, these sound like classic panic symptoms. When you said it feels like 'nowhere is safe', I know that feeling only too well.

Roy is right about the therapies too, a good one is 'cognitive behavioural therapy' in which you train yourself to unlearn your fear. It can be done.

Good luck, Myzen

I can not watch those kind of movies with out fear. That is what the movie makers want us to feel. I can not erase the pictures in my mind, once I have allowed them to enter.

My solution to fearful movies is not to watch them. I watch only comedy's, history, nova, or public television.

Just because they are on television, does not make the movie a good one. Violence and fear trigger a lot of people. I personaly can not understand why they are on television at all.

Why not watch the programs that relax and enlighten you?

Yours in televison land,
Colors

<font color="purple"> What you are experiencing definatly sounds like an anxiety attack if not a panic attack. Increased heart rate, sweat, hot flases, feeling light headed are all symptoms of anxiety or panic.

Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint the cause of an anxiety attack or panic attack for that matter but there is almost always a trigger. What I do to figure it out is write it down on paper. What I was thinking about at the time it occured. What I was doing. etc etc. That can help to figure it out.</font>