Is It Anxiety or Panic?

I’ve come to belief that there is a real difference between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. When I have an anxiety attack I feel unusually warm, almost like I’m coming down with a fever or the flu. My forehead doesn’t feel warm or feverish, however, and so I know I’m not really physically sick. I know it’s a mental/emotional discomfort that’s fueling a physical reaction.

During an anxiety attack, my mind is relatively under control on a conscious level, but subconsciously, I know that I am facing some choices that mean taking a risk and possibly facing rejection or abandonment. So it’s really about learning to move past my comfort zone and to grow more into the real me, which is always frightening.

A panic attack for me is like an anxiety attack times 10. My conscious brain is running on full-throttle with anxious, devastating, out-of-control thoughts that wind me up inside till I feel like I’m going to implode. There’s a sense of despair and hopelessness and there doesn’t seem to be anyway to turn off the panic. My stomach ties up in knots and I may not be able to eat much for hours.

Unlike an anxiety attack, I have a hard time reigning-in a panic attack. I try surrendering it to my Higher Power, I try affirming mantras and I try accepting the panic/feelings as they are and allowing them to be without fighting them, since fighting them can intensify them. But I have very limited success unless I get up and move around.

I’ve also noticed that anxiety attacks happen more during the day and panic attacks happen more at night. I more often than not wake-up in the middle of the night with a panic attack. So I am forced to get up and burn some energy to calm down. Walking helps.

I’m sure that my panic attacks are heightened by the fact that I suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which can only be diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

Most likely, anxiety attacks and panic attacks are rooted in our internal shame. I think most of mine come from a deep-rooted lack of self-acceptance that is based in deeply-engrained childhood shame, which I still haven’t been able to totally uproot and remove.

Therapy, prayer and support are essential when dealing with anxiety and panic. We need to be able to talk, uncover our inner-toxins and spit them out of our systems. That can require a therapist, good friends or family, a support group and support from a Higher Power. It may also require medication, but only a doctor can determine that for us.