Panic disorder is a treatable illness. Its defining characteristic is sudden attacks of fear and terror, typically accompanied by intense physical sensations–sweatiness, faintness, tingling limbs, nausea, chest pain. Due to the intensity of these symptoms, people with panic disorder can sometimes think they’re having a heart attack, going insane, or about to die.
Panic attacks tend to be unpredictable. The fear of the next panic attack, of losing control, is a key feature of panic disorder. Panic attacks tend to pass in 10 minutes; some symptoms may linger.
A longer list of panic symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing.
- Pounding heart or chest pain
- Intense feeling of terror
- Sensation of choking or smothering
- Dizziness or feeling faint
- Trembling or shaking
- Sweating
- Nausea or stomachache
- Tingling or numbness in the fingers and toes
- Chills or hot flashes
- A fear that you are losing control or are about to die
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