Panic Attacks: What They Are and What to Do in the Moment

You think you're dying. But really, your body is just panicking.

A panic attack is a flash of fear. Not just anxiety. An avalanche. In a matter of minutes, you feel such terror that it seems you'll die right now. Your heart pounds so hard it might leap out of your chest. You can't catch your breath. Your head spins. Your legs give way. Your hands go numb. You clutch your chest and think: heart attack. Or stroke. Or losing your mind.

But it's not a heart attack. Not madness either. It's your nervous system firing off a false alarm. Like a smoke detector that goes off from steam from a kettle. Your brain decides there's mortal danger. Flips on survival mode. But there's no danger. And all that energy slams inward. Into your body. Into your fear.