Panic Attacks Support Group

A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort, typically with an abrupt onset and usually lasting no more than thirty minutes. Symptoms include trembling, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, dizziness, hyperventilation, and sensations of choking or smothering. Panic attacks can be very sudden, appear to be unprovoked, and are often...

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Anxiety Disorders
/ Panic Attacks Support Group

panic - but without elevated heartrate?

kiki2
kiki2
Anyone suffer from panic attacks that come on and you feel floaty, dizzy and kind of lose concentration - I just plain feel weird?? I don't seem to get the thudding heart thing as much now (used to)....or maybe what I'm having isn't a panic attack but some other weirdo thing?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Have you had your blood pressure checked?
deleted_user
deleted_user
If it's not to do with your blood pressure it could be just an anxiety attack instead of a full blown panic attack
deleted_user
deleted_user
I get that too at times, I think your talking about Distortion. Kind of feels like your not attached to your body somehow? It fades, it doesn't last very long for me anymore. It doesn't mean your having a panic attack, it can happen when your anxious or stressed out and it doesn't mean your going to have one either. Hope that helped :)
deleted_user
deleted_user
those are pretty general feelings. the floaty/dizzy part makes me think of a blood pressure issue possibly, but i don't know. maybe next time you feel like that, you can take a ride to a drug store that has a machine in the pharmacy and check your blood pressure.

the concentration part you mentioned sounds related to anxiety.

panic attacks are almost always associated with elevated heart rate for me...or an extreme sense of "something is wrong. i have to get the fuck out of here. who's doing this to me? AH!!!!!!!!!!!!" but...

i have had a psychotic break before where i was so stressed, paranoid, and anxious that i hallucinated (that's the explanation that makes sense to doctors anyway). i didn't have a panic attack really. i was so scared the air i was breathing was poisonous that i dropped my respiration down a lot. i got freezing cold and couldn't control my bladder. yuck!
deleted_user
deleted_user
Thank You for starting this thread! I've been doing this a lot lately and I'm so sorry that you are having to deal with it, I wouldn't wish this on anyone!
I also catch myself and wonder what it was I was doing, losing track of time, feel like I'm moving fast but in actuality I'm moving very slow, etc.
I too wondered how it could be anxiety or a panic attack when my heart didn't feel like it was about to burst..lol
deleted_user
deleted_user
yes you can have a panic attack with the palpitations sometimes I get and others I didnt I had the same feelings like you do its all a part of it
deleted_user
deleted_user
My panic attacks have felt like this every time. It's still scary no matter what. Just learn some coping skills and practice them when you feel these feelings coming on.
ebeth35
ebeth35
Yeah, I would feel dizzy, almost the same feeling I get when I take cold medicine. I agree with kbecker, check your bp. Kudos on not having the elevated heart rate, sign of progress!