The Most Common Types of Anxiety Attack Symptoms

It's hard to explain anxiety attacks to someone who has never experienced them before. The anxiety and panic is sometimes so strong that you become agitated and extremely nervous to the point where you can't focus on anything and can even lead to being out of control. Other times, you may feel extremely paranoid - like the world is out to get you.

Typically, your body uses hormones to cause you to panic during useful times, like when an animal tries to attack you. In this case it is beneficial. However, if you're walking down the street and all of a sudden feel an intense bout of panic coming on, it is not very useful. In fact, it is very stressful.

There are a variety of different panic attack symptoms that may be noticed during your first bout of intense anxiety. Many people describe it as similar to having a heart attack because they feel dizziness, sweating, heart palpitations, lightheadedness and extreme discomfort throughout their body. There have been many people who have went to the hospital thinking they were suffering from a heart attack when in actuality they were experiencing an anxiety attack.

Other physical symptoms that may occur during an anxiety or panic attack are shortness of breath, hot or cold flashes, trembling, claustrophobia and an overall physical weakness within the body.

Some people who have had attacks of anxiety do not experience any physical symptoms. For them, the attack is purely on a mental level. In this case, they will lose certain cognitive abilities that were once easy to them. For example, they may have trouble speaking clearly or focusing on anything.

Additionally, the internal dialogue they experience may be intense, abrasive and loud. Many people feel like they are going to lose control of themselves and their actions when undergoing an anxiety attack which causes their thoughts to race and become a logical.

Generally there is an overall feeling of some sort of catastrophe or impending doom that is going to fall upon the person who is suffering from the episode. During this period of time they may fear that they will never be able to get out of their panicked state, that they may die, that their feeling of panic is because they are suffering from a serious illness or that they may even go crazy.

If you have experienced any of these symptoms, chances are you were suffering from an anxiety attack.