Anxiety and panic attacks are common occurrences nationwide. In reality, 2-3% of Americans experience panic disorder. Meanwhile, anxiety affects 40 million people aged 18 years old and above in the U.S alone.
The problem is that the two experiences are too similar that they’re often confused with one another. Such confusion can result in misdiagnosis and a cascade of negative outcomes.
Hence, it’s best to read about the said conditions to avoid misjudgments. Here’s a quick article contrasting anxiety vs panic attacks to help you spot their differences.
Defining Terms: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, and Panic Attacks
To fully grasp the concept of anxiety attacks, let’s first answer the question, “What is anxiety?” Anxiety is when an individual feels excessive worry, fear, nervousness, and apprehension.
When humans sense danger, our body sets off an alarm that allows evasive action. In addition, the impending threat causes an adrenaline rush in our bodies.
It triggers anxious reactions and allows us to fight or flee the potential threat. These reactions often come in the form of increased sensitivity, heartbeat, and sweating.
This is exactly why it’s normal to feel nervous and worried when in a fight-or-flight situation. It’s also quite natural to be anxious about work, money, health, or family life issues.
When such anxiety becomes out of proportion that it hinders daily life, it turns into a disorder.
That’s for anxiety, then what about anxiety attacks?
What Is an Anxiety Attack?
An anxiety attack is when one suddenly feels intense fear and anxiety. It can occur unexpectedly without an apparent reason.
Hence, it’s possible to suddenly have an anxiety attack when walking on a dark street. Becoming a parent, getting married, and hearing news of a loved one’s death can also cause an anxiety attack. Those with a phobia may also experience anxiety attacks when presented with triggers.
During anxiety attacks, an individual may experience physical symptoms. This includes lightheadedness, rapid heart rate, dry mouth, shaking, and headache.
Muscle tension, diarrhea, nausea, sweating, and chest and throat tightness are also possible symptoms. They might also have difficulty in sleeping and focusing and be easily irritated.
Understanding Panic Attacks
Often mistaken as an anxiety attack, a panic attack is the sudden feeling of horror. These episodes can happen anytime, even when a person is asleep. Much like how they come, panic attacks can suddenly disappear.
People having a panic attack believe they might be dying or are going crazy. Hence, the fear and terror they’re experiencing are often unrelated to the situation they’re actually in.
Physical symptoms of a panic attack usually include rapid heart rate, palpitations, trembling, sweating, and smothering of sensation. In addition, you may feel chest and abdominal pains, dizziness, numbness, the feeling of choking, and nausea.
Hot flashes, chills, and shortness of breath also indicate a panic attack. Other symptoms include intense fear of losing control, dying, and feelings of detachment. Note that for the experience to qualify as a panic attack, at least four of the symptoms mentioned should be observable.
Anxiety vs Panic Attacks: The Clinical Differences
If you noticed, the symptoms of anxiety attacks and panic attacks are identical. How then will you know which anxiety vs panic attacks you are experiencing?
For starters, individuals having anxiety attacks don’t feel fear of losing control. Nor do they feel a sense of detachment from themselves or the world. Instead, the attack stems from extensive apprehension and worrying over what’s coming.
Another difference between the two attacks lies in the intensity of their symptoms. Anxiety attacks range from mild, moderate, or severe attacks. Meanwhile, panic attacks often show severe and disruptive symptoms.
The symptoms of panic attacks are so severe that they’re commonly mistaken for heart attacks. This isn’t true, though, as the chest pain one feels during panic attacks stays in the mid-chest area. The chest pains during heart attacks may travel toward the jaw or the left arm.
Moreover, anxiety attacks usually last longer than panic attacks. Panic attacks come and go after a few minutes. The symptoms of panic attacks should peak within 10 minutes before subsiding.
Hence, if the symptoms you’re experiencing or seeing aren’t peaking anytime within the first 10 minutes, it might not be a panic attack. However, there are cases where symptoms can last longer. In some cases, the first attack triggers another succeeding one.
On the contrary, anxiety attacks grow from a long-term but the gradual building of anxiety.
For example, it could be that you’ve been feeling anxious about the board exam for a year that you suddenly started having an anxiety attack during the examination day. Thus, an anxiety attack is more of a natural response to a stressor.
Treating Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Fortunately, anxiety and panic attacks are treatable! Some common treatment options include medications, therapy, and self-help strategies.
Medications can help reduce the symptoms of the attack. Yet, medication is highly regarded as a short-term treatment. They’re only there to help you control your symptoms while finding a long-term strategy.
While cognitive-behavioral therapy aims to help, you see what you’re anxious about from a new perspective. Your counselor can also help you identify and develop suitable coping strategies for managing your triggers and symptoms.
There are also a lot of self-help techniques that you can try. For example, relaxation techniques can help you manage your stress levels. This, in turn, fosters the right body and mind condition for treatment.
Relaxation techniques include muscle relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery, and aromatherapy. Joining yoga and meditation class also proves to be relaxing.
Also, having support groups can help with managing anxiety and panic attacks. Support groups provide a great opportunity to learn from the experiences of others and get extra panic attack tips. Moreover, support groups prove to be a healthy addition to one’s social circle.
Effectively Dealing with Anxiety or Panic Attacks
Now that we’ve compared anxiety vs panic attacks, do you have a clear answer on which among the two you or your loved one is experiencing? Whatever the case is, note that treatment is not an impossible mission.
Take the first step towards trigger and symptom management with us. From therapy to counseling, we’ll find the right treatment for you. Reach out to us today and let us help you lay the building block of your road to effective recovery!
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