What Does An Anxiety Attack Feel Like?

What is anxiety disorder? Usually when someone says they are anxious they mean excited or nervous. For me anxiety has a whole different meaning. When I am anxious it is like being trapped in a box that comes with a free panic attack. So what does an anxiety attack feel like?

Think of everything someone might do in a day such as going to work, driving, social gatherings, visiting friends, shopping etc… Sounds like a normal day right? Nothing to worry about here. Well now try to imagine that something as simple as talking on the phone for more than 10 minutes means a tiger will come attack you through the phone. With each minute that passes the danger increases. It will not take long for you to try to escape the danger. You might be thinking... “That’s totally illogical and ridiculous” and yes it is. Herein lays my problem though.

In high school I remember learning about adrenalin and the body's natural reaction to certain situations. “Flight or Fight” was the way of describing one such chemical reaction, a very basic survival instinct that causes one to flee or fight for survival when a perceived threat is nearby. In this heightened state all the senses often focus acutely on the perceived threat. To me this is what an “adrenalin rush” is. That state of danger where all the senses are very alert and I’m in a flight or fight mode. Adrenalin is not supposed to last much more than 20 minutes after the incident ends.

OK so what does this have to do with tigers and telephones? First consider dreams. Scary dreams can be pretty terrifying at times and the threat in them feels like it really exists but then you wake up and it is over. I have even known I was dreaming yet it still felt very real to me. Maybe you have experienced real feelings lingering even after you are awake and know what happened was nothing more than a dream. I know I have. But wait this doesn’t make sense… something that was not real caused some very real feelings, even with the knowledge that the incidents causing the feelings were not real! Well now I guess anyone who has dreamed before and had feelings linger after waking up now know it is possible for unreal things to cause real feelings. Dinosaur nightmares as a child come to mind as I write this.

So the tiger and the telephone? The tiger is not really waiting in the phone but for me the feeling of danger still is real and increases as time goes. One reason I use the tiger as an example is the fear will follow me at times almost like a tiger stalking prey. What I mean by this is once I get away from whatever caused the initial panic the feeling may still linger just like with dreams. For me though this feeling of danger sometimes continues to follow me for days. No matter what I do or where I go I will feel threatened. How could this be?

A good doctor once explained to me how for some people the body will continue to produce adrenalin after an incident for longer amounts of time than normal (He also made me aware of the tiger). Remember flight or fight? This continued production of adrenalin would explain why the fear lingers so long for me at times, or why something unreal like a dream can cause my feelings of danger to last for hours and even days. For me this is what I mean when I say I'm feeling anxious.

Here is a great medical study on anxiety disorders.

The tiger comes with a bonus too! Not only do I get to worry about that feeling of danger because I can now be scared of anywhere I have seen the tiger before also! What a deal being scared to do something that might trigger a feeling of danger. If I do something like drive more than 5 minutes it causes me to become anxious. I now get to anticipate the anxiety before I even get in the car. This causes anxiety of its own and like a snowball rolling downhill the anxiety grows. It is very hard for me to do something that has caused me anxiety in the past for this reason.

I'm not afraid to drive it’s the fear of having a severe panic attack while driving that makes me nervous. I feel the same about many things most people do daily without a second thought. How many people go to the store or any other place worried about a tiger attacking them? I know I am not the only one with this problem. Not many people understand this condition though and I am in hopes that I have shed some light on the subject.

Hopefully now you wont have to ask yourself "What does an extreme anxiety attack feel like?" anymore. If you or someone you know suffer anxiety disorders look for some local anxiety treatment centers. Recently I have been seeking medical attention from a local anxiety clinic. It helps a bit especially after I got over the fear of the anxiety that medication causes me. Every day is still a challenge.

The simple things like going to public places that most people don’t even think twice about are small victories for me. For many people, writing something this personal for everyone to read would be very difficult. My problem can easily be perceived as a weakness and many may see it that way. I even feel that way sometimes. I win my personal battles though. I continue to try to make progress every day and I still will do things that scare me. I can battle the anxiety I feel from time to time when I need to go out. Progress can be slow but as long as I face my fears and continue to overcome them with Gods help this will not defeat me.

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_{Credit for tiger image:}

Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net