I've heard the term anxiety attack, is that a special kind of panic attack?

I think it depends on the person and how they use the term. In general people use the terms "anxiety attack" and "panic attack" interchangeable, but they are actually very different. In the clinical world (the DSM) actually doesn't use the term "anxiety attack" but rather there is a description of "anxiety disorders" which includes Panic Disorder, OCD, Generalized Anxiety.. but no "anxiety attack" definition. That's not to say that there is no such thing as anxiety reactions. When you are suddenly put into a new situation for example, you may experience the feelings of anxiety arise. The feelings are "anxiety" but the description of what you are having would be a "panic attack" brought on through severe anxiety. When someone says they're having an anxiety attack they usually mean they're having a panic attack, which is the specific attack associated with anxiety. Panic attacks are described most commonly as a sudden wave of panic with symptoms of heart bead irregularity/increase, shortness of breath, dizziness, disorientation, constant panic and emotional upset. Many people interpret these symptoms as an "anxiety attack." So in summary.. there is not actually a diagnostic term for an "anxiety attack" but rather there are anxiety disorders, that include "panic attacks" which are usually what people are referring to. They are sudden emotional overflows of anxiety and panic. Here is a link that I find very clear and helpful, as I'm not sure if my answer was clear to non-therapy students/practitioners. I hope I could help you some :) DIFFERENCES BETWEEN + DEFINITIONS: http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/understandingpanic/a/anxvspanic.htm PANIC DISORDER: http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/understandingpanic/a/PanicBasics.htm ANXIETY "ATTACK": http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/symptoms/a/anxietyatt.htm

An anxiety attack is the same as a panic attack but in reaction to a trigger. Such as talking in front of a large audience. etc. Panic attacks can come without a trigger being involved.

From experience and reading up online, an anxiety attack is a reaction to stress that is less immediately intense than a panic attack, but drawn out over a longer period of time. So they are related, but they are different things.

Here is an excerpt from an anxiety website that might help clear things up for you: "The Difference Between an Anxiety Attack and a Panic Attack Anxiety attack is not a clinical term. It's a term used to describe periods of more intense anxiety that go beyond traditional anxiety experiences. That differs from the term panic attack. Panic attacks are severe anxiety attacks like what is described above – attacks that are often so disabling that many people struggle to cope with them, and develop panic disorder, health anxiety, and possibly agoraphobia. Traditionally, the term "anxiety attack" is used to discuss weaker versions of panic attacks. If you have multiple panic attacks, you have panic disorder. Anxiety attacks can affect anyone – even those without panic disorder or an anxiety disorder – and so the term is used to encompass all of these types of attacks. For the purposes of this article, we'll discuss anxiety attacks as the weaker version of a panic attack. But in life, people do use the two terms somewhat interchangeably, and both are related to the same feelings of doom, along with relevant symptoms." https://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/attacks/symptoms-and-signs

As far as I can tell, anxiety attacks come from a stressor. Something like fear etc. Panic attacks on the other hand do not come from a stressor. They are unpredictable and cannot be provoked.

Yes, an anxiety attack is a panic attack. A panic attack can happen in many situations, even anxiety. An anxiety attack is just a panic attack when you are nervous or anxious

They are the same thing? Different names. It's an out of control fight and flight response that can be triggered.

Usually they are used interchangeable to mean the same thing. If they mean different things, usually it's the other way around.

The term anxiety attack is used to express a symptom of a range of anxiety disorders. The term panic attack is used in relation to a panic disorder. Medically these terms may determine something different but in every-day use they are usually quite inter-changeable.

those terms are often used interchangeably to mean the same thing. the only difference is that panic attacks aren't always used to describe a disorder and the persistence of it, constantly feeling the symptoms and going through attacks on a likely regular basis. however, panic attacks and anxiety attacks have about the same affects/symptoms.