How do I know if I'm really having a panic attack or if I'm just freaking out?

It'll be hard to breath and well, your panicking. Sometimes time seems to fly by, too. You'll think it was a few minutes but it could be and hour. You will probably end up uncontrollably crying.

Usually panic attacks last about 15-30 minutes however they can come back throughout the day and sometimes even last a hour. Limit your caffeine if you're prone to anxiety

If you feel something pushing down on your chest and/or feel that it's hard to breathe, then it is probably a panic attack.

If you've experienced a panic attack before, you'll know pretty quickly. A panic attack is essentially freaking out, just a lot more intense!

Panick attacks often come with shortness of breath or an overwhelming sense of fear or need to run. Though in either case you may find deep breathing a chat with a friend or listener calms your nerves!

Someone experiencing a panic attack feels as though they have no control over their body; cannot catch your breath, sweaty palms, heart palpitations or racing heart, shaky, chest pain or discomfort, and feeling detached from your surroundings. Because of the feeling there is no control, panic arises along with each symptom.

Well they are really similar but the symptoms such as shortness of breath, rapid heart beats, sweating, twitching etc. Are signs of a panic attack which should help differentiate

Panic attacks are sudden and come with strong physical response (discomfort, like heart racing, palpitations, change in respiration, sweaty palms etc) fuelled with negative catastrophic cognitions (catastrophic beliefs like I am going to die!) followed by a behaviour (avoidance "I must get out now!). If you ask a person who has experienced a panic attack what that person was thinking before and during the attack, he/she will most likely state a "loss of control" being "afraid to lose her mind" and be institutionalised or that he would die as a result of the high level of discomfort. People who experience panic attacks are very focused on the internal physical responses and fuelled by catastrophic cognitions about what is going to happen to them if they keep on feeling the discomfort (death) and that is why they will react so dramatically (survival). The fear of having a panic attack and avoiding anything that associates with a strong feeling of discomfort is actually what maintains the problem in the first place.

Panic attacks are when you are emotionally unstable and cannot control your breathing, whereas "freaking out" is just a nervous feeling taking over your body that can be relieved quickly.

When having a panic attack one can experience physical symptoms from a racing heart and sweating to chest pains and hyperventilating. In my experience, it can be very scary and can take several minutes to go away.