Anxiety Attack vs Panic Attack: What’s the difference and how to know which one are you having?

People suffering from undiagnosed mental disorders often get panic attacks and anxiety attacks. If you cannot access adequate mental healthcare, it can be quite difficult to differentiate between the two. It is also possible that you have a combination of the two disorders.

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Amanda Spray, Ph.D., Clinical Director of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Center and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health, stated that there is quite a difference between the onset of the two feelings.

Anxiety Attack and Panic Attack

How to identify Panic Attack from Anxiety Attack

She says that people who get panic attacks usually feel completely okay before the episode and their symptoms usually subside within 30 to 60 minutes. However, people who have anxiety attacks tend to be worried on a more regular basis, and their symptoms may not subside so quickly.

She also said that the feeling of anxiousness only increases during the attack but does not go away completely even after the episode has ended. Eventually, it settles back to a normal level for the patient.

How to identify Panic Attack from Anxiety Attack

How to identify Panic Attack from Anxiety Attack

Panic attacks are characterized by severe symptoms like wanting to puke, increased heart rate, dizziness, and the feeling that you are about to die. The panic attacks usually subside within 20 minutes, and they leave the patient exhausted.

A feeling of overwhelming paralysis usually marks anxiety attacks because things are not working out well for you. People who get anxiety attacks are generally inclined to worry about things regularly and an increased level of anxiety may induce an attack.

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