[BeautifullyDemented]

Does anyone else have this?! At random times, I'll get so very worried, my heart will start to pound, I'll start to sweat and shake. For no reason at all!!

It usually happens when I'm online, I'll be reading something and suddenly it hits. No social situation, no touching something thats dirty -- I don't get it. :get

Is there an actual technical term for this...? Does it happen to anyone else? :sigh
Just wondering.

 

[Frankie Mac]

The same thing happens to me. I hate it. I can be sitting down and watching TV and then *poof* anxiety.

 

[CodeWeasel]

Sounds like you are having a panic attack. I believe having panic attacks without cause is "Panic Disorder".

 

[BeautifullyDemented]

Panic attack?!? I thought that panic attacks were things were you have to... like... go into the hospital and its something horribly serious along those lines... Maybe I have the wrong idea of a panic attack...?

 

[millenniumman75]

People who don't know what panic attacks are will think they are having a heart attack or something. On Lucinda Bassett's infomercail, you often hear people and how they would go to the emergency room for "chest pains."

My worst panic attacks occurred during a tough quarter in college where we were told that if we failed a 10-quiz (there were five in the course), we would fail the class. I was so frightened on one of the quizzes that I tensed as stiff as board, had chest pains, and had trouble breathing for a solid thirty minutes. It took me an hour to completely relax. Needless to say, I looked like I had been hit by a train the next day, but I digress...

 

[BeautifullyDemented]

Wow, I couldn't imagine having one for thirty minutes... how'd you do on the quiz?

I looked it up -- I think it is a panic attack (Google is love, it tells you everything you need to know) that have. It lasts for about five to twelve minutes (Not nearly as bad as thirty!), and its the exact same thing that a few sites (And my girlfriend who's had many Panic Attacks) have told me.

Weird.

 

[Hermit the Frog]

Yep, happens to me from time to time, but it's never been bad enough for me to think I'm having a heart attack. It just feels like I have an intense fear of something. I've described it as having the fight or flight response with nothing to fight.

 

[James of Maine]

I've experienced both anxiety attacks and panic attacks, or at least what I consider to be...

For me, an anxiety attack is more like a fit of extreme nervousness. I get shaky and redfaced and have trouble speaking or making decisions. And they may or may not be triggered by anything in particular.

My panic attacks are worse; it makes me feel like I'm having a heart attack; it's an extreme, sudden, terrifying primal fear that my body is literally shutting down and I am about to die. It's usually triggered by a frightening event or some similar kind of emotional trauma.

 

[ShyViolet]

It sounds like Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I have that.

 

[Yikes]

I'm nervous and jittery all the time. Either I'm twiddling my thumbs or tapping my foot or something.

Every once in awhile this nervous state will heighten and I'll begin to get dizzy or nauseated. I'll freak out when that happens.

Sometimes it's obvious why it's happening, but more often it *seems* to happen for no reason, but I always wonder if there's a subconscious trigger.

 

[Vicky]

Sometimes it's obvious why it's happening, but more often it *seems* to happen for no reason, but I always wonder if there's a subconscious trigger.

I think there usually is a trigger. I know for myself I thought I just had random anxiety a lot of the time... but have been slowly learning that there are triggers. For example- yesterday my boyfriend mentioned casually that he didn't want it to be monday, he was enjoying sunday. Minutes later I got all anxious. Why? I didn't know at the time but I was thinking about work the next day, and how I had all these different things to do. I guess that is a pretty simple example. For my anxiety it usually is. But for my panic attacks (which have become less frequent since I have become more aware of my thinking) I usually have little to no idea what leads to them.