Anxiety vs Panic Attack: Key Differences in Disorders and Presentation

Anxiety vs. Panic: What’s the Real Difference?

Anxiety and panic are terms often used to describe uncomfortable feelings of fear, but they represent distinct emotional responses based on each condition. Understanding the difference between the two can help identify symptoms properly and implement proper coping skills. While both can be distressing, anxiety tends to be more prolonged and tied to specific worries, whereas panic strikes suddenly, often without warning, and is more intense.

What Defines an Anxiety Attack?

An anxiety attack is not an officially recognized medical term, but it is widely used to describe periods of heightened anxiety. These attacks often arise from prolonged stress or worry and can be triggered by specific situations or fears. Symptoms of an anxiety attack include:

• Increased heart rate
• Restlessness or irritability
• Trouble concentrating
• Muscle tension
• Dizziness

Anxiety attacks differ from panic attacks as they build gradually. They are often associated with anticipatory thoughts surrounding a fear. These thoughts fuel the physical symptoms, creating a cycle that feels overwhelming. Symptoms are also more residual in anxiety attacks than in panic attacks. Even after the fear is addressed, mild to moderate anxiety, restlessness, and uneasiness can continue.

Breaking Down a Panic Attack

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that peaks within minutes. It feels like it comes out of nowhere and can even occur in calm settings. Panic attacks are a distinct characteristic of panic disorder but can also occur in other conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Common symptoms of a panic attack include:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• A feeling of approaching doom or death
• Nausea or abdominal pain
• Dizziness or lightheadedness

Panic attacks can be so intense that the person feels like they are having a heart attack. While they are nerve-racking, panic attacks are not life-threatening. In general, symptoms last between 5 and 20 minutes and dissipate quickly.

How Anxiety and Panic Attacks Are More Alike Than You Think

Though anxiety and panic attacks differ in intensity and duration, they share several similarities. Both are responses to perceived threats and involve the body’s fight-or-flight system. One shared trigger can be stressful events or trauma. They also can cause disruptions to daily life, such as going into public places or interrupting the workday. This creates a sense of helplessness as the fear of a panic attack or becoming overwhelmed by anxiety is a looming thought. The overlap in symptoms and triggers can make it difficult to differentiate between panic and anxiety attacks.

Shared Symptoms of Anxiety and Panic

Anxiety and panic attacks share several symptoms. Common physical symptoms across both include a rapid heartbeat, sweating, shortness of breath, and dizziness or lightheadedness. Though the duration of these varies between anxiety and panic, they tend to occur in both scenarios.

Psychological symptoms revolve around fear and worry during anxiety and panic attacks. Most of the time, this fear is overexaggerated and a misperception of the situation. As fear and stress build, feelings become more uncontrollable, compounding symptoms and making them more intense.

Spotting the Key Differences Between Panic and Anxiety Attacks

While the shared symptoms can blur the line between anxiety and panic, key differences set them apart. First, the onset and duration are not the same – anxiety attacks develop gradually, often in response to specific worries or stressors. In panic attacks, symptoms appear suddenly, without a clear trigger, and peak within minutes.

The intensity of anxiety attacks also differs from panic. Anxiety attacks typically involve milder, persistent symptoms that can last for hours, days, or even weeks. Panic attacks are more intense, with a sudden rush of fear and physical symptoms. Though panic attacks only last for minutes, more than one can occur at any given moment. Some will experience multiple panic attacks per day while others may only experience one or two per year.

Timing and Triggers: The Main Distinction

One of the primary differences between anxiety and panic attacks is their timing and triggers. Anxiety attacks are generally situational, meaning they arise in response to specific fears or stressors. The scenario can be something that grows over time. An example would be having to give a presentation at work or school. The time leading up to the event is met with increased anxious feelings and physical symptoms when thinking about the presentation. The full anxiety attack often sets in the day of the situation, and though symptoms dissipate after the event is over, they can linger on.

Panic attacks, however, are less predictable. They often occur without a clear trigger, catching the person off guard. This unpredictability can make panic attacks feel more destabilizing and harder to manage. For those living with panic disorder, the fear of having another attack can lead to avoidance behaviors and increased anxiety.

How to Tell If It’s Anxiety or Panic: A Step-by-Step Guide

unsure whether you’re experiencing an anxiety or panic attack, follow these steps:

1. Assess the onset: Did the symptoms build gradually or strike suddenly? Have you been feeling uneasy, worried, or more stressed than usual over the past few days? This is a distinction of an anxiety attack. Do you suddenly have a fear that something bad is going to happen or that someone is following you? This indicates a panic attack is coming on.
2. Evaluate the intensity: Do you feel like you can’t breathe and that doom is surrounding you? If it happens suddenly, this is a panic attack. Feeling chest pain or shortness of breath is also a sign of an anxiety attack, but the fear is less severe than panic.
3. Identify triggers: Can you pinpoint a specific worry or stressor, or did the symptoms seem to come out of nowhere? Identifying the trigger behind the event is an indicator that the attack is related to anxiety or panic.
4. Time the event: Are the symptoms lingering over hours or days, or do they come on strong and then resolve within minutes? This is another characteristic to distinguish panic from anxiety.

Recognizing whether you’re dealing with anxiety or panic is the first step toward regaining control. Both conditions are treatable, and understanding their differences can pave the way for more targeted coping strategies and interventions.

Getting Treatment for Anxiety and Panic Disorder in Tampa, FL

Anxiety and panic disorders can be debilitating, interrupting your daily life and making you miss out on important events. The good news is that treatment options are available for both types of attacks that address each unique presentation. Anxiety treatment will focus on triggers and coping skills to address them in a healthy way. Panic disorder treatment hones in on why panic attacks occur and how to manage the symptoms moving forward. Both will involve extensive therapies that dive into the root causes behind anxiety and ways to keep it in check. There is no need to keep missing life’s joys – take the first step toward living anxiety-free today.

If you or someone you love is living with anxiety or panic attacks, help is available right now. Clean Recovery Centers has a dedicated team of professionals who are experts in anxiety disorders and will guide you in developing strong coping skills. Each of our locations offers housing certified by the Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR) so there is never a fear of where you will stay. Call us today at (888) 330-2532 to learn more about our program offerings.

Get clean. Live clean. Stay clean.

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