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Panic attack
Make it clearer
A panic attack is a sudden wave of intense fear or discomfort, with a sense of losing control even when no immediate danger is present. Picture the body's alarm sounding at full volume even though there is no fire in front of you.
That alarm can make the heart race and cause shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, or abdominal discomfort. The episode is real, but one attack is not automatically panic disorder; that diagnosis requires a broader pattern.
In brief
A panic attack is a sudden period of intense fear or discomfort, often accompanied by a sense of losing control even when no immediate danger is present. The episode reaches a high level of intensity quickly.
It may cause a pounding heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal discomfort because the body's alarm response becomes strongly activated. Having one attack does not automatically mean panic disorder, which requires a broader clinical pattern.
Sources (2)
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicinePanic Disorder
- National Institute of Mental HealthPanic Disorder
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated