Am I Having a Panic Attack? Signs, Symptoms, and When to Seek Therapy in Baltimore
Have you ever been walking through Hampden and all of a sudden felt like the ground below you was dropping? Sitting on a boat in the Inner Harbor and lost your breath, seemingly out of nowhere? Randomly started to feel like you’re spinning while enjoying a Ravens game?
If you can relate to these experiences, there’s a chance you might have had a panic attack. Panic attacks are normal and unharmful experiences that feel very dangerous and real to the person having them. In fact, about 10% of adults will have a panic attack every year and a third of adults will have at least one lifetime panic attack. While panic attacks can be scary, below is some information about how to know if you are having a panic attack and what to do about it if you do.
What is panic?
But, what is panic? Panic is a result of a basic emotional process we all experience: fear. Fear arises when we see some sort of threat in the environment to protect us and put us into alert. While it can be scary, fear is still an important emotion that we feel in times of danger. Panic, however, often comes up when we have an intense bout of fear without any real dangers around us. While you can have a panic attack in response to something threatening, often panic attacks arise in a normal circumstance. Because of this, panic attacks feel worrying and troublesome, as if we cannot control any of the sensations arising within us.
Panic attacks can occur in almost any setting. I have known people who have gotten a panic attack while swimming, studying for an exam, waiting in line at a restaurant, attending a crowded event, or riding in an Uber. Even the most mundane and normal places can ignite unexpected feelings of panic. Panic attacks typically start to occur in the late teenage or young adult years, but can come up at any stage of life.
How to know if you’re having a panic attack
So, how do you know if you are experiencing a panic attack? That is a hard question to answer because panic attacks look different in every person. Below are some common examples of panic attack symptoms.
Pounding heart, feeling like your heart is beating out of your chest
Shortness of breath or feeling like you are choking
Sweating
Feelings of intense heat or cold
Feeling dizzy or a spinning sensation
Chest pain
Nausea
Feeling like you are dying
A feeling of impending doom
There are many more sensations that can be indicative of a panic attack, however, these are some of the most common ones. Typically, a panic attack consists of multiple symptoms from the list above. In the moment, panic attacks can feel like the world is ending. Thankfully, however, there are multiple tips and things to do to help get through the sensation of a panic attack.
Navigating a panic attack
One tip for when a panic attack occurs to recognize what is happening. Tell yourself, “I’m having a panic attack”. It seems simple, but the act of noting your symptoms and the panic attack can be powerful. This strategy allows you to take control of the panic attack. Remember what we talked about above: so many people get panic attacks and they cannot actually hurt us. Remind yourself of this! You can even send yourself affirmations (“I got this”, “I am stronger than the panic attack”) to get through. Even if it feels like the world is ending, a panic attack ultimately is just your brain’s way of processing fear and discomfort.
Another idea to help during a panic attack is to control the different senses around you. You never know what exactly could have started a panic attack. To help change it, you could try moving to a different environment, finding something cold to hold, drinking water, or finding something with a strong scent. Along these lines, one of the biggest things you can do to help yourself in a panic attack is take deep breaths. With your brain worried about everything going on, getting natural airflow and allowing your breathing to become controlled can help calm yourself down in the moment.
Finally, tell your therapist about it! If you don’t have a therapist, find one! Therapists are here to help you through distressing experiences like a panic attack. We have plenty of individualized tools and strategies to help you as you navigate panic attacks in your life. Especially if you begin to experience them more than once, it can be beneficial to talk to your therapist about panic attacks.
Panic attacks are scary. They are unknown to us, different from how we normally experience the world, and overwhelming floods of sensation. But thankfully, there are many ways to help control a panic attack and to be able to function with panic attacks in your life.
Are you a Maryland resident looking to start online or in-person therapy for anxiety, stress, worry, or panic attacks?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
Here’s how you can get started! Online and in-person counseling for anxiety, stress, worry, and panic attacks aren’t the only services offered at our Baltimore, MD office.
The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students.
Written by: Jackson Borchers, Counseling Intern
Jackson Borchers is an intern at LifeSpring Counseling Services in Maryland, and he provides low-cost counseling services to individuals at our Baltimore, MD office.
