Anxiety or panic attack symptoms
Wikipedia says that Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense anxiety, mounting physiological arousal, fear, stomach problems and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms.
My anxiety attack and panic attack symptoms:
They were usually totally unpredictable. I could be driving in my car with my mind wandering, sitting on my living room couch, watching tv, cooking a meal etc... It didn't matter. It seemed like the only time I never had a panic attack was when I was sleeping.
All of a sudden, I would become very aware of my heartbeat. It would feel like my heart was pumping harder and faster than it should. I could feel a dull pain growing in the center of my chest. It felt like there was some invisible force pushing down on my chest making it very difficult to breathe. I had to really force myself to take a deep breath. Then, sometimes but not always, I would get this utter feeling of dread coming over me. I would think to myself, "This is it. I'm going to die." During the really bad ones I would come close to passing out.
Sometimes the attacks were predictable :
When I first quit smoking, the attacks were sometimes predictable. I used to smoke a cigarrette after every meal. After every meal, since quitting, I would feel the anxiety building. Sometimes it would turn into a major attack. Other times I would just get a little short of breath, and get butterflies in my stomach.
I could also predict one coming on when I was about to do anything emotionally but not physically stressful. For instance, when my friends wanted me to go out to the bar, I would be standing there sipping a drink. Then all of a sudden I'd start bugging out. I felt like I couldn't be around people. I would see someone dressed funny and it would totally piss me off. I remember thinking the world had gone totally insane.
How long would an attack last?
Most of the time, an attack would steadily build in intensity. It would reach a maximum point. Then it would diminish in intensity. The total time for this process would range anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. After having an attack, it would take hours or often times a good night's sleep before feeling relatively normal again.
When I say normal again, I am speaking relatively. During this time in my life, I was anything but what most people would consider normal. It seemed like I always had the symptoms of someone with generalized anxiety disorder.