| Quick significant bit first: If this is your first time having these symptoms, see a doctor. Chest pain and breathing problems can also indicate heart issues, thyroid problems, or other medical conditions. It’s important to rule those out. |
Just imagine a random situation: You’re standing in the supermarket queue, and suddenly your heart decides to run a marathon. Your chest tightens like someone’s wrapped it in cling film. The fluorescent lights seem too bright. And you’re thinking, genuinely, desperately thinking, “Am I dying right now? Between the bread aisle and the self-checkout?”
That’s a panic attack. And if you’ve never had one, consider yourself lucky. If you have? You’re reading this and probably nodding along, maybe feeling that familiar flutter in your chest just from remembering.
Here’s what nobody tells you about panic attacks: they’re false alarms. Your body is genuinely responding to danger, except there’s no actual danger. The threat is fundamental to your nervous system, but the trigger isn’t. It’s like a smoke detector going off because you burnt toast, not because your house is on fire.
Here is a raw, faith-sensitive guide to understanding panic attacks, their symptoms, and what your body is actually doing.
Physical Symptoms of a Panic Attack
If you feel these, there’s a high possibility you might be having a panic attack.
Your Heart Goes Wild
It’s not just beating fast: it’s pounding so hard you can feel it in your ears, your throat, and your fingertips.
Why Breathing Feels Strange
You’re either gasping for air as you’ve just sprinted up ten flights of stairs, or you feel like you’ve forgotten how to breathe altogether. Both are caused by rapid, shallow breathing and the development of adrenaline.
Temperature Changes Explained
Hot flashes, cold sweats, or both at once. You’re simultaneously burning up and freezing, which makes absolutely no sense but happens anyway.
Everything Feels Strange
Your hands might tingle. Your legs might feel like jelly. Some people feel like they’re floating or like reality has gone slightly fuzzy around the edges.
Mental and Emotional Symptoms of a Panic Attack
The physical stuff is bad enough, but the psychological experience? That’s where panic attacks really earn their name.
“It feels like I’m watching myself from outside my body. Like I’m in a movie, but I can’t remember my lines, and everyone’s staring, and I need to leave RIGHT NOW, but also my legs won’t move.” This is what someone once described to us, and honestly? Perfect summary.
You might feel:
- Like you’re going crazy (you’re not).
- Like you’re dying (you’re not).
- Like you need to escape immediately (understandable, but running usually doesn’t help).
- Like you’re completely alone in this experience (you’re definitely not).
Try This Right Now
- Breathe in for four counts.
- Hold for four counts.
- Breathe out for four counts.
- Hold for four counts.
Repeat.
Follow the circle. Breathe in as it expands and out as it shrinks. The rhythm matters more than perfection.
When to Contact Your Medical Consultant
Understanding when panic attack symptoms require medical evaluation is crucial for your safety and well-being. While panic attacks themselves are not medically dangerous, their symptoms can mirror severe conditions that require immediate attention.
Seek Emergency Care Immediately If You Experience:
First-Time Symptoms: If this is your first time experiencing these symptoms, go to the emergency room or call emergency services immediately. Conditions like blood clots in the lungs can cause severe anxiety, shortness of breath, and feelings of impending doom similar to panic attacks. Only a medical evaluation can rule out life-threatening conditions.
Chest Pain That:
- Feels like intense pressure, squeezing, or fullness in your chest
- Radiates to your arms, jaw, neck, shoulders, or back
- Persists for more than several minutes despite calming techniques
- Worsens over time rather than subsiding
- Develops during physical exertion, like climbing stairs or shovelling snow
Breathing Difficulties That:
- Continue to worsen rather than improve
- Prevent you from speaking in complete sentences
- Are accompanied by blue-tinged lips or fingernails
Additional Red Flag Symptoms:
- Confusion or disorientation
- Fainting or loss of consciousness
- Numbness or speech impairment
- Unrelenting dizziness
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
Understanding the Difference: Heart Attack vs. Panic Attack
While the symptoms overlap significantly, key distinctions exist:
Duration and Pattern:
- Panic attacks typically peak within 10 minutes and subside within 30 minutes
- Heart attacks often continue and may worsen over time, with symptoms that come and go but don’t fully resolve
Type of Chest Pain:
- Heart attack chest discomfort typically radiates to other areas and is described as a pressure or a squeezing sensation
- Panic attack chest discomfort tends to stay confined to the chest and is more likely to be sharp or stabbing
Timing and Triggers:
- Heart attacks are more likely to develop during physical exertion
- Panic attacks can occur at rest, during sleep, or without warning
When to Schedule a Non-Emergency Appointment:
Contact your healthcare provider if you experience:
Frequent Panic Attacks: If panic attacks are interfering with your work, relationships, or self-esteem, contact your provider for an appointment. Regular panic attacks may indicate panic disorder, which is highly treatable with proper care.
Changes in Your Usual Pattern: If your symptoms are entirely different from those you’ve had before, or if chest pain is more intense than usual and doesn’t let up, go to the ER. Even if you’ve had panic attacks before, new or worsening symptoms warrant medical evaluation.
Chronic Anxiety: If you experience chronic anxiety that interferes with daily life or difficulty concentrating alongside panic attacks, professional help can provide effective treatment options.
Heart Disease Risk Factors: If you have risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure, being overweight, having a close family member who has had a heart attack, or smoking, discuss with your doctor which symptoms mean you should go to the hospital.
You Are Not Broken
Having panic attacks doesn’t mean there’s something fundamentally wrong with you. Your alarm system is oversensitive; this can be because of an underlying anxiety disorder, sometimes due to stress or past trauma, sometimes for reasons we’re still figuring out.
What Actually Helps
We can’t lie and say that there are some fixed magic cures, because there aren’t. Each one of us is entirely different. But some things genuinely help:
- Understanding what’s happening
- Learning to recognise the early signs before it becomes a full-blown attack.
- Breathing exercises
- Talking to someone who gets it.
- Therapy, particularly CBT, can be absolutely transformative.
- Sometimes medication, if that’s the right path for you.
- Building a toolkit of strategies that work for your panic attacks.
And perhaps most importantly: being kind to yourself when it happens. You’re not weak. You’re not failing. You’re a human being with a nervous system that sometimes gets its wires crossed.
A Note on Faith
For many in our community, faith is a source of comfort and strength.
| Prayer and dhikr can be powerful tools for managing anxiety. The rhythmic nature of prayer helps calm the nervous system. |
When Panic Strikes During Salah (Prayer)
Panic attacks during salah are more common than you think. You’re not alone, and you’re not doing anything wrong. Here’s what Allah has said about this:
{Do people think they will be left alone and they will not be tried? …} (Al-`Ankbut 29:3)
And indeed, we shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.). (Al-Baqra Verse No: 155)
Here’s what to do in the moment:
Keep breathing. Slow, deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Your salah isn’t ruined.
Use dhikr as your anchor.
If you can manage it, whisper or think:
- “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” (There is no power or strength except with Allah).
- SubhanAllah (Glory be to God).
- Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God).
- Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest).
The rhythm of these words can steady you. Even just “Ya Allah” is enough.
Don’t abandon your salah if you can help it.
Even if you’ve lost track of which rakah you’re in. Even if you can’t remember the surah, finish it however you can. Shaytan wants you to stop. Don’t give him that. Your effort in difficulty earns you more reward than ease ever could.
If you absolutely can’t continue, that’s okay too.
Make wudu again when you’re calmer. Try again. Allah is not waiting to punish you. He knows what’s in your heart.
Ready to Talk About It?
We’re here to listen, support, and help you navigate this with genuine, compassionate understanding.
Remember: panic attacks are temporary. The terror you feel in those moments is temporary. But your strength, resilience, and capacity for healing? Those are permanent.
You’ve got this. And when you don’t feel like you’ve got this? That’s what we’re here for.
Book a Free Session With Our Faith-Sensitive Mental Health Team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a panic attack, and how long does it usually last?
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes and produces intense physical and mental symptoms (palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, derealisation). Most attacks last about 5–30 minutes, though the sense of after-effects can persist longer.
Are panic attacks dangerous?
Panic attacks are not usually dangerous and do not cause heart damage in otherwise healthy people. That said, panic symptoms (especially new or severe chest pain or breathing difficulty) can mimic cardiac problems. So if it’s your first time, the pain is severe, or you’re unsure, seek urgent medical assessment to rule out heart or other medical causes.
Why do my hands/face tingle during a panic attack?
Tingling (paresthesia) often comes from hyperventilation: fast breathing lowers CO₂ (causing respiratory alkalosis), which alters ionised calcium and makes nerves more excitable; adrenaline and peripheral vasoconstriction also contribute. The result is commonly perioral numbness and “pins & needles” in the hands/feet, which is reversible when breathing and chemistry normalise.
What are the fast, evidence-based techniques to reduce an attack?
Immediate practical steps include:
- Slow diaphragmatic or box breathing (eg, 4-4-4-4 or paced 4-5 counts) to reduce CO₂ loss and calm the nervous system.
- Grounding (5-4-3-2-1 or 3-3-3), a splash of cold water, or focused sensory inputs to interrupt the fear loop.
These are supported by NHS guidance and clinical reviews as practical first-line self-help for acute panic. If breath retraining is difficult or panic is recurrent, seek psychological treatment (CBT) or professional review.
When should I see a GP or get specialist treatment?
See your GP if panic attacks are recurrent, limiting daily life, causing intense fear of future attacks, or if you’re avoiding places (possible agoraphobia). NICE and NHS recommend stepped care.
