What is the difference between panic attacks and anxiety attacks?

Answer 1

Anxiety attacks normally do not produce numbness of the left arm and shoulder, or pain in the arm and shoulder, as well as chest pain. Blue fingertips and fingernails are another thing which anxiety attacks normally do not cause. On the other hand, these don't always occur in mild heart attack situations, either. Many of the symptoms of a panic attack will mimic those of angina, mild heart attack, or even temporary hypoglycemia. If you are unsure what it could be, get to a doctor ASAP. There is a large majority of people that end up in ER feeling as if they are having a heart attack when it's anxiety (but it should always be checked out by your doctor.) I had suffered from severe panic attacks in the 70s and also Agoraphobia and I had tightening of the chest, tingling down the left arm and into the jaw. I was terrified and thought I was having a heart attack. I was in my 30s then and I am now 65 so there you go! I suggest you take up something like yoga, exercise at a gym, or at least walk one hour per day to get your heart rate going and this also lowers the adrenal gland from pumping so hard during anything stressful (which can cause the above symptoms and also racing heart). I also took courses on Cognitive Therapy which tricks your mind into dealing with stressful situations and I use it to this day because it works! It takes practice, but can be done.

Answer 2

Panic attacks are sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, mounting Physiological arousal, fear and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and congnitve symptoms. The onset of these episodes is typically abrupt, and may have no obvious triggers. Anxiety is a physiological state characterized by congnitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. These components combine to create the feelings that we typically recognize as fear, apprehensionm or worry. Anxiety is often accompanied by physical sensations such as heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches, or headaches. RESOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
People who suffer from anxiety attacks experience sudden moments of extreme fear. Combined with this feeling of nervousness they could also be sweating really hard, have an extremely high heartbeat, find it difficult to breathe, shaking....

These are all extreme symptoms, of course these symptoms can vary in presence or severity. Many things can cause anxiety attacks. Claustrophobia, public situations, stress, ....

Answer 3

Anxiety is a general unease or heightened concern over anything you feel might be negative, either real or imagined. Generally, fear is an emotional and physiological reaction to some perceived threat, also real or imagined.

Answer 4

The terms "anxiety attack" and "panic attack" are used interchangeably in popular culture, but they have very specific and different meanings to psychiatrists.

An anxiety attack is when something bad happens to you or you're thinking about something bad and you get really anxious. You can get so anxious that you might even have some physical symptoms.

A panic attack on the other hand comes on all of a sudden, out of the blue for no reason at all, and it's all about your BODY or your MIND. You suddenly feel like you must be having a heart attack (or a stroke, or passing out, or choking, or vomiting, or going crazy, or losing all control) because your heart is racing, you're short of breath, you may have nausea or tightness in your throat, and you're shaking. A panic attack comes on within ten minutes, but can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. The main feature of a panic attack is that you are worrying about your BODY or your MIND right then and there, rather than worrying about something in your life.

Answer 5

Generalized anxiety disorder is an overall condition of anxiety that generally pervades all parts of a person's life. Panic disorder is generally sporadic, and triggered by specific events, thoughts or places.

Answer 6

Phobias are just a general fear of something, like Spiders for instance. You are seriously afriad of them and you take your time to adviod them.

A panic attack is when your fear, but bigger. You are litteraly so scared you panic, and you try all you can to get away from it (hence the 'attack' part).

So say your claustropodic (fear of small spaces, a common fear), your skiing on a mountain and a avalanche happens and you get covered in snow. The sensible thing to do is to wait for rescue to save you or try and calmly dig your way out. But since your afriad, you panic and thrash around, trying to get the snow away, wasting precious little oxygen. This is a panic attack. The insensable reaction to a overload of your fear.

Answer 7

Many people with anxiety have panic attacks. Although anxiety is a long-term condition, with thoughts of panic, nervousness, and several physical symptoms, panic attacks tend to be short term with more severe symptoms, such as dizzyness, sweating, shaking, and others.

Answer 8

a phobia is when your afraid of something. panicking is if your really nervous or anxious.

Hope i helped welcome