How do I help others to understand what it's like to have a panic attack when they have no idea?

Tell them it's like you're sitting on a chair, all comfortable and safe and then all of a sudden the leg from under the chair breaks and you fall back. It's like that panic, but it happens out of no where and it doesn't go away. I hope that helps :)

I would describe it as almost drowning. I think everyone has had a least one experience where they have been in water and felt like they weren't going to reach the top in time. Your internal walls start to cave in and you feel helpless.

What I have tried to do when explaining what its like to have a panic attack is to describe the physical symptoms as well as ask them if they have ever experienced something similar and to also include the emotional symptoms and how they relate to your physical symptoms. Ask the person questions and just try your best!

I think it's extremely difficult to get someone to understand something that they've never experienced. I like to use analogies. Comparing a panic to something that the person may have experience may help them understand where you're coming from. Perhaps ask them if they were ever holding their breath, underwater, and were running out of air and were questioning if they would make to the top in time.

They might not be able to understand but you can try to compare how you felt to things they can relate to. For example when after I had a panic attack people wanted to know how it felt and one of the things I told them about was the trembling/shaking I experienced. I compared it to an earthquake in my body, something I wanted to controls, to stop, but the tremors wouldn't go away. You may tell them to read on panic attacks and gain a some knowledge on them from the internet, books, counsellors and so on.

Panic attacks are very difficult things for people with little or no experience with them to understand. It might help you to start by explaining to these people what the warning signs of you having one are, and then explaining what they can do to help you when you have one.

the best you can do is explain how you feel. What happens to you? Where do your thought go? Most people will be able to grasp the idea better if you do that.

This is always very tricky, as people have a hard time understanding a feeling or set of feelings that they have never experienced. Sometimes it can be helpful to link people to articles or studies (these can be found very easily), or you can try explaining your symptoms to them in the best detail possible. However, you have to also keep in mind that no matter how many articles the person is shown or no matter how well you explain it, they still may not understand unless they experience it firsthandedly.

People who haven't experienced a panic attack will probably never fully understand but you can help them to by directing them to informative websites, having them come to your therapy/GP with you and giving them as much information as possible. Also, telling them what can help you during an attack could be beneficial.

Explain to them it's like a elephant sitting on your chest, it's a tingling all over and a dizzy feeling in your head, your chest begins to tighten and it feels like your heart is going to stop beating. Tell them it's scary and exhausting.