Panic attack?

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am 22 year old male and I have been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks. My hands get tingly really easy.. Yesterday i had a panic attack where my hands got so rigid that i could not move them, they felt like they were going to break, they crawled up and got stiff and i felt powerless.. thought I was going to die, my whole body was tingling, my stomach got rigid too and my head felt pressured.. The reason for my anxiety is because i had a grand mal seizure a year and 4 months ago but it was considered a non-epilleptic seizure.. it was because of exhaustion, dehydration and i was not put under any medication.. EEG, CT scan were all good.. That was my first and only seizure but since then i have been terrified, scared and anxious. The anxiety/panic symptoms went away for awhile but for the last month they came back and the anxiety is always there but i only get panic attacks when i am driving. I am terrified of driving because i keep thinking i am going to have a seizure even though it's been more than a year.. My vision is a little disturbed during day time because of the brightness, since i am always anxious.. can panic attacks cause muscle seizing or could this something more serious?!

Welcome to WP!

Wrong board,
but welcome to WP!

Panic attacks can indeed cause trembling, however it may not be considered seizing. However the trembling can be so bad that it could easily mimic seizing. One thing the separates panic attacks from seizures is the sudden thought of impending death, extreme hydrosis (sweating), fear, hopelessness, wanting 'to run, escape' , dizziness, and even loss of conciousness (personal experience). Panic attacks are also more mentally tormenting compared to seizures. So yes panic attacks can cause muscle spasms similar to those of seizures.

hey

i am 16 and i suffer panic attaks as well. i know it sucks. the best thing to do is try your stratergies and have people arround you who can help yo through it.
one thing i do is imagin the thing i am panicing about on a bouncy ball singing jingle bells

hope this helps

Panic attacks may be symptoms of an anxiety disorder. These attacks are a serious health problem in the U.S. At least 1.7% of adult Americans, or about 3 million people, will have panic attacks at some time in their lives, with the peak age at which people have their first panic attack (onset) being 15 to 19 years. Another fact about panic is that this symptom is strikingly different from other types of anxiety; panic attacks are so very sudden and often unexpected, appear to be unprovoked, and are often disabling.

Welcome to WP!

I've been suffering from anxiety disorder and severe panic attacks since I was about 13. I've learned to practice positive "self talk" and yoga-like breathing during these episodes, which usually gets them to a more manageable (i.e., not full-blown) level.

Nevertheless, I've had attacks so powerful that I truly thought I was dying. The most recent such attack was in December '07; I was so frightened that I called 9-1-1 (embarrassing!), because my whole body was shaking uncontrollably, my heart was beating like a triphammer, my fingers were going numb, and I couldn't breathe. So I feel your pain, man.