So What's a Panic Attack, You Say?

I thought it would be smart to give those of you who have been blessed to never have experienced a panic attack a quick look at the physical symptoms a person is dealing with while struggling with panic. I can promise that most of these, I have experienced. You may recognize my actions, attitudes, physical symptoms in much of what's listed. I do invite each of you reading to ask questions anytime!

• raging heartbeat
• difficulty breathing, feeling as though you 'can't get enough air
• terror that is almost paralyzing
• nervous, shaking, stress
• heart palpitation, feeling of dread
• dizziness, lightheadedness or nausea
• trembling, sweating, shaking
• choking, chest pains, distress
• fear, fright, afraid, anxious
• hot flashes, or sudden chills
• tingling in fingers or toes ('pins and needles')
• fearful that you're going to go crazy or are about to die

Panic attacks reach maximum intensity within a minute or two once they begin. They diminish slowly over the next 30 minutes or the next several hours (but I promise you, your mind feels as if it will never end and you're going to die). It is common for the first attack to cause a person to go to an emergency medical facility (I did). Subsequent attacks occur several times a month and are often as severe as the initial attack.

About three fourths of Panic Disorder patients are women (that'd be me). Panic Anxiety Disorder begins most often when people are 20-30 years old (I was 20 and am in my mid-30s now). It begins less often in teenagers or persons in their forties. It is uncommon for the disorder to appear in the elderly for the first time.


Persons experiencing repetitive, severe panic attacks may simply have panic attacks and that is all. Other persons may begin to experience a progression of bothersome or distressing panic attack "side effects" (Oh yeah!).

This progression commonly occurs as follows:
1. A few weeks or months prior to the first panic attack there are sometimes minor symptoms such as rapid heart beat. (In retrospect, I definitely see things that I missed!)
2. The first major panic attack occurs. The person often seeks emergency medical evaluation at this time. The initial examination is commonly normal.
3. Continued panic attacks cause the person to seek further medical evaluations which may be inconclusive. Many panic attack sufferers go for months or years before receiving the proper diagnosis and by that time may have seen over a dozen physicians, psychologists and counselors. This appearance of "doctor shopping" may cause others to regard the sufferer as a hypochondriac.
4. An individual with Panic Anxiety Disorder may begin to avoid a certain activity because it occurs to them that it would be especially embarrassing or dangerous to have a panic attack while engaged in that activity. A typical sufferer of Panic Anxiety Disorder might think, "It's bad enough to have a panic attack at all, but it would be dangerous to have one on Interstate 75 because I would be preoccupied with the attack and would not be a safe driver. I might wreck my car, injuring myself or someone else!" This avoidance behavior may appear to be a fear of driving when it is really a fear of having a panic attack while driving. (For those of you who know me well....doesn't THIS sound familiar?)
5. Tendencies to avoid circumstances in everyday life may increase and extend to more activities. This extensive avoidance behavior is referred to as agoraphobia. (I had this for almost 3 months in college where I couldn't leave my own home.)
Places, activities or circumstances frequently avoided by persons with Panic Anxiety Disorder include the following: (all of them for me!)
Shopping malls, Department stores, Restaurants, Church (this was particularly heartbreaking), Meetings, Classes (dropped out of school), Driving (I'm REALLY struggling with this one now), Being alone, Airplanes & Elevators

6. After months or years of continuous panic attacks and the restricted lifestyle caused by the typical avoidance behavior, the sufferer of Panic Anxiety Disorder may become demoralized and psychologically or physically depressed. (Truth be told, this is where I am now and how I'm feeling at times.) Some sufferers turn to alcohol in an attempt to self medicate or to diminish the symptoms of the disorder. This greatly complicates the individual's life and ability to seek appropriate treatment. Tragically, one out of every five untreated sufferers attempts to end his or her life, never realizing that there was hope and treatment available.

Now, for the GOOD NEWS!! As a Christ-follower, I KNOW where my hope is built....on NOTHING less than Jesus' blood and righteousness...hmmm, somebody should write a song about that! I found this description online, and found it to be completely dead on. You could look up "Kara" in the dictionary, and this is what you'd find!

Giving myself grace,
Kara