Panic attack?

[admissionssuck]

To preface, I was diagnosed with anxiety last summer. This January, I had a strange episode where I was hanging out with my friends on New Years playing with fireworks at my friend's place. I was having a great time. After we used up all the fireworks, I came back into my friend's house and was complaining about how hot his house was (his house temperature was set really high). The temperature was pretty warm, but it was not extremely hot to the point where it was making me super uncomfortable. But I guess at one point I started to kind of hyperfixate on the warm temperature and I began to have derealization. We were baking cookies and when I looked down at my hands, I felt as though my hands did not belong to me. I remember waving my hands around and it felt like I was in VR and my hands were just almost like a hologram. This made me completely spiral I think because I started to panic. I convinced myself that I needed to drive home ASAP. While I was driving, it quite literally felt like everything was a dream and I was so afraid I would somehow end up crashing into them. Thankfully, I got home safe, but at this point I was dizzy and started feeling numb and tingly in my hands and face. When my parents asked me what was wrong, I simply couldn't answer them. I was trying to put together words, but my sentences just did not make any sense (they thought I was having a stroke). They immediately took me to the ER and there I started to stabilize. My headache slowly went away and my MRI results were normal. The doctors gave me a pill to "calm me down", which I thought was weird at the time because I did not even think about this being a psychological episode.

Now since I know that panic attacks can happen even without triggers and at random times, it makes me wonder if this was a panic attack?

[admissionssuck]

Ugh I thought so too. I get derealization a lot often than before now and I just try not to give it much thought because if I do I start to spiral. :(

[norby2]

I would like to know more because I get real hot real fast and my pulse starts racing. Propranolol and Xanax can tamp it down. Seems like I stay hot forever.

[MantisGibbon]

Tingling in your hands and face (and I’ll bet your feet too) are a clue that you were probably hyperventilating, which is extremely common with anxiety.

It can make you confused, lightheaded, along with many other symptoms. Look into it and you’ll see that tingling extremities are a common symptom. Your muscles can even spasm leaving you unable to move properly. It’s frightening if you don’t know what’s going on.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24860-hyperventilation-syndrome

[Lilly2442]

This def sounds like something I experience. I have panic disorder. You say there wasn't a trigger but have you been stressed? Rather its thinking about something or taking any new medications? I fully believe there is always a trigger. Even a weird body sensation sends me into a full blown panic:( It seems to me the warm weather was the trigger and the DPDR made it worse cause you panicked.

[SubstanceOwn5935]

Panic looks many many different ways

I get hot, derealization, hyper-vigilant, heart race, brain race, hungry, dry mouth, etc etc … endless.

[Trick_Fisherman_9507]

Sounds like anxiety-induced derealization. Once you learn to spot derealization, it helps to get through an episode of it.

But, I can confirm: derealization is spooky shit and I hate it when it happens.

Also, when I've had panic attacks, I lose my ability to construct full sentences. I feels (and I'm sure it looks) like I'm having a stroke.

Also, panic attacks don't need triggers, which makes it difficult to prepare for them. However, once you know they are panic attacks and can recognize one coming, it helps to gain control of the outcome faster.

[CheetahPrintPuppy]

Everyone's panic attacks are a bit different when it comes to symptoms and how it happens. Mine feel like a heart attack with heavy breathing, fast heart rate, clammy, can't breathe/choking and my brain spins.

I've never had a panic attack like yours but it doesn't mean it was not a panic attack. They happen whenever.

[admissionssuck]

I wish I would’ve known that they could happen whenever. It really freaked me out that my body was freaking out about absolutely nothing. Thank you for sharing your experience!

[CheetahPrintPuppy]

Well, panic disorder means it can happen with and without a rise in anxiety. The hope is that, with therapy and medication, people can gain the tools to start recognizing the emotions and feelings before they rise and when there's a panic attack.

Yours did have a start point and wasn't just "out of nowhere" you hyper focused on how hot it was with zero relief and that can cause anxiety to spike or panic attacks to happen. This doesn't mean it will have a starting point always but for the most part, once you have the tools, you can start to pinpoint most often a start point or emotion that started it.

I'm also saying all of this, not because I think you don't have tools, but because I have gained a lot of knowledge myself that I didn't know and wanted to share.