How do you personally recognise a panic attack?

Usually my breathing isn't right - I usually have short, quick breaths. I also just feel panicky, which is a good indicator. I'll start shaking and feeling dizzy and ill need to sit down and clear my mind.

It takes time! Panic attacks can look and feel very different. Some people find that their heart races, they may feel sweaty, they could feel tight in the chest, like they might collapse, like they're having a heart attack or might die... they vary so much. The first panic attack is always incredibly scary, but after you have a couple you might start to notice a few things. What are the boxes that you can personally tick? Does your heart start to race? What are the thoughts that pop into your mind? These are the little cues that can help you recognise when one is happening.

With having anxiety myself, I notice panick attacks with talking quickly and heavy breathing. My mind would go 100 miles per minute - and I wouldn’t be able to calm my breathing. I have noticed with other people’s personal experience with panic attacks that everyone is different, my friend would stop and zone out for the time being I was informed she was having a panic attack. - another friend of mine wouldn’t be able to talk she would show her self having a panic attack by forcefully throwing her arms in there are and gasping for air- I would calmly approach both of them and remind them I am there for them and place a friendly arm on there back.

The symptoms of panic attacks vary between everybody. For example, the symptoms I experience may be very different from what you experience. Some common symptoms are: sweaty hands, racing heart, fast breathing, racing thoughts, feeling unsafe, intense fears. Some ways that I’ve found can help a panic attack are using grounding techniques. One grounding technique is breathing in for 4 seconds and out for 4. That’s called box breathing, and can be very helpful. There are lots of ways to help panic attacks. I recommend googling some more ways to hell if you’d like some lore options. Good luck!

I feel the tightness in my chest. I feel the racing heartbeat. I feel the sense of impending doom. My thoughts are all flooded with chaotic questions wondering if this is the end. I feel that everything in the world is coming to an end and I can't do a single thing to stop it. Sometimes I have to put my hand on a wall just to ground myself and remember that I am in the present and safe. Not in the unsafe environment my mind and body think we are in. I take a few slow, deep breaths and count down from 15 until I can no longer feel my heartbeat pounding in my chest.