What is the difference between an anxiety attack and a Panic Attack?
You may have heard people use the term “anxiety attack” when referring to times where they are experiencing a lot of worry, stress, or anxiety. Sometimes people use this term interchangeably with “Panic Attack”, which is the technical term used by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) to characterize periods where people have overwhelming feelings of fear that come on suddenly. During these attacks people often feel like they are dying, “going crazy”, or losing control, and may experience shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pain or discomfort, or a choking or smothering sensation. These symptoms often cause people to want to flee the situation. In other words, Panic Attacks are much more intense than the feeling of being overly stressed, which most people experience from time to time. During a Panic Attack a person will experience four or more of the following symptoms, which will develop abruptly and reach a peak within ten minute
