At the beginning, an unfamiliar fear or unusual sensations start to be felt in the body. Things like a racing heart, dizziness, tightness in the chest or throat, difficulty breathing, pins and needles, shallow breathing, or strange sensations in the body. At that moment, it feels like you don’t know what will happen next.
During that uncertain time, you find yourself alone. When you can’t comprehend what’s happening, you start to wonder what’s going on. Some might feel like they’re about to die. Others are plagued by weird and unsettling thoughts. The mind doesn’t seem to stop, and they fear they might be going crazy, losing control over their mind. In the midst of these doubts and strange sensations, you become anxious. This anxiety triggers a big panic attack. Panic spreads throughout your body.
After a short while, the panic subsides, but you become even more apprehensive about the experience. You start fearing that the panic might return. You start living in fear of fear itself. You begin to live in fear of fear itself.
To alleviate your doubts, you get a heart checkup. Everything appears normal in the reports. You take medications as prescribed by a physician, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference. You can’t figure out what’s wrong. You’re suddenly hit by panic for no apparent reason. Panic often strikes in places where you feel trapped – places where you can’t escape easily, like sitting in a salon chair, on a train, bus, or flight, or in the midst of a crowd. Or places where you think you won’t find anyone to help you in case of an emergency. That’s when the sensation of panic begins. You want to escape from it, but you have no control over it, and a panic attack sets in. Your entire body and mind are shaken.
After a panic attack, your mood becomes depressed. It feels like your body has lost all strength. Post a panic attack, a constant sensation of anxiety lingers in the body. Unusual or unsettling sensations persist. You feel trapped within yourself.
Many times, some individuals become afraid of going to places alone where they think they won’t find any help. They start avoiding places where they fear a panic attack might occur. Some refrain from driving, flying, crowded areas, or even sleeping at night due to the fear of an anxiety sensation or a panic attack.