When Anxiety Attacks, What Does An Anxiety Attack Feel Like?

TL;DR: If you’re wondering, “What does an anxiety attack feel like?”, you’re not alone—these episodes can be intense, scary, and surprisingly physical, even though they aren’t dangerous. This guide explains the symptoms of an anxiety attack, why they happen, and how to tell the difference between an anxiety attack vs panic attack.

• Anxiety attacks can cause weird physical symptoms of anxiety, like chest pain, tingling, choking sensations, and dizziness.
• Many people feel a “sense of impending doom” or fear of losing control.
• Symptoms often peak within minutes and fade as your body calms.
• Panic attacks are more sudden and intense; anxiety attacks build with stress.
• Breathing, grounding, and professional treatment can reduce severity and frequency.

Anxiety attacks can be frightening, overwhelming experiences for people who experience them, but what does an anxiety attack feel like exactly?

The simple answer: it can feel intensely physical and mentally terrifying, even when there is no real danger.

We’re here to help break down the most common (and sometimes weird physical symptoms of anxiety), why they happen, how long anxiety attacks typically last, and how to tell the difference between an anxiety attack vs panic attack—so you can feel less scared and more in control.

Symptoms of Anxiety Attacks and What They Feel Like

Even though anxiety attacks feel dangerous, they are not physically harmful. Still, the body’s alarm system can make you feel like you’re dying, losing control, or going crazy.

Understanding the symptoms of an anxiety attack helps reduce fear and makes an episode easier to manage.

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Source:  Verywell

1. Shortness of Breath

Many anxiety attacks begin with a sensation of not being able to catch one's breath.

This feeling can occur even when an individual is at rest or seemingly calm. Those who experience shortness of breath as a result of an anxiety attack often feel as if they suddenly cannot fully expand their lungs and "get a full breath". As a result, they will often begin to hyperventilate, which leads to further feelings of breathlessness, as well as other symptoms, such as a "pins and needles" sensation in the extremities and feeling as if one is about to faint.

Important note: anxiety-related shortness of breath is usually caused by too much oxygen from over-breathing, not too little. Slow, deliberate breathing can reverse this cycle.

2. Rapid Heartbeat

Another common symptom of anxiety attacks is a racing or rapid heartbeat.

Individuals experiencing an anxiety attack may find their heart rate skyrocketing without any apparent reason. In the midst of an anxiety attack, it is not uncommon for the resting heart rate to reach levels of 120 beats per minute, or even more. This is due to the release of adrenaline that comes with anxiety attacks.

This happens because your body enters fight-or-flight mode. The threat feels real, even if it’s only perceived, causing a surge of stress hormones.

3. Tingling and Numbness

Tingling in fingers, toes, lips, or face can be one of the weird physical symptoms of anxiety. It may feel like something neurological is wrong, but it’s a known anxiety response.

Hyperventilation changes your oxygen/carbon dioxide balance, triggering tingling or numbness. These sensations fade once breathing normalizes.

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4. Choking Sensation or Tight Throat

Another common symptom experienced during anxiety attacks is a feeling of choking, or of having tightness in the throat. This is often called globus pharyngeus.

Individuals with globus pharyngeus may feel as if their throat is partially or fully blocked, despite being able to speak and breathe normally. They may as well feel as if their throat is "tight", and that the muscles in the throat are paralyzed.

5. Sense of Impending Doom

One of the most distressing and traumatizing symptoms of an anxiety attack is also one of the vaguest and most difficult to identify.

A sense of impending doom is just what it sounds like-- a sudden, unshakeable feeling that something very, very bad is about to happen, and that the individual's life or well-being is in imminent danger.

This sensation can come on without warning and typically lasts no more than 10 minutes (about the average duration of an anxiety attack).

6. Weakness or Feeling Faint

A sense of weakness or faintness is another very common symptom of an anxiety attack, and one that causes many patients who struggle with anxiety to experience excessive amounts of stress.

While fainting is a frightening symptom for those struggling with anxiety, it is uncommon to experience it as a result of anxiety, and even in instances where this is the case, fainting as related to anxiety attacks is not considered dangerous or life-threatening.

7. Feeling of Losing Control or Going Crazy

Many people ask, “Why does anxiety make you feel like you're going crazy?” Anxiety ramps up bodily sensations and hyper-awareness, which can feel like you’re losing your grip.

Most symptoms of anxiety are tied back to this feeling of losing control. While symptoms such as these may be extremely distressing to those experiencing them, anxiety does not cause psychosis. In fact, anxiety often makes people more alert to reality, not less.

8. Chest Pain

As with shortness of breath, chest pain is one of the most alarming physical symptoms of an anxiety attack, as it is also a cardinal symptom of life-threatening medical emergencies, such as heart attacks or blood clots.

Chest pain as a result of anxiety often feels indistinguishable from chest pain as a result of a life-threatening condition, and as a result, many patients experiencing anxiety attacks for the first time wind up in the emergency room, thinking they are suffering from something much more serious.

Given the serious nature of chest pain, a medical examination is often necessary to determine that there is no cause of the pain other than anxiety.

Anxiety Attacks vs. Panic Attacks: Understanding the Differences

Panic attacks are sudden bursts of intense fear or terror that happen unexpectedly and peak within minutes.

Symptoms can include racing heart, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, and a feeling of impending doom or loss of control.

When these attacks happen repeatedly, it is referred to as panic disorder.

On the other hand, anxiety attacks build gradually in response to stress or worry. Symptoms usually rise with a trigger and can last longer, often tied to ongoing concerns.

Here are some key points to distinguish between the two:

• Panic attacks often occur suddenly and without warning, while anxiety attacks are typically in response to a stressor.
• Panic attacks can cause intense physical symptoms like chest pain and rapid heartbeat, while anxiety symptoms are generally less intense and more chronic.
• Panic attacks may lead to avoidance behaviors to prevent future attacks, potentially leading to agoraphobia if left untreated.

Mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and separation anxiety disorder may also involve elements of anxiety and panic.

Post-Panic Attack Symptoms (The “Aftershock”)

After a panic or anxiety episode, some people experience post panic attack symptoms such as:

• fatigue or shakiness
• brain fog
• muscle soreness
• emotional sensitivity
• lingering fear of another attack

This “crash” happens because your nervous system is recovering from a big adrenaline spike. Rest, hydration, and calming routines help your body reset.

Tips for Managing Anxiety Attacks

If you’re in the middle of an episode, try:

1. Slow the breath: inhale for 4, exhale for 6–8. Keep it gentle.
2. Grounding: name 5 things you see, 4 feel, 3 hear, 2 smell, 1 taste.
3. Relax the body: unclench jaw, drop shoulders, loosen hands.
4. Reassure your brain: “This is anxiety. It feels awful, but it will pass.”
5. Reduce stimulation: if possible, step somewhere quiet or sit down.

These strategies interrupt the fight-or-flight feedback loop.

Anxiety Attack Treatment

Anxiety attacks can feel traumatic, and after a first episode, people may avoid places or activities linked to it, like driving, social events, or even leaving home. Over time, this can shrink someone’s life.

The good news: anxiety has excellent recovery outcomes with proper treatment. Options include:

• Therapy (especially CBT or exposure therapy)
• Medication when appropriate
• Relaxation skills (breathing, mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation)
• Lifestyle supports like regular exercise, sleep routines, and reducing caffeine

Anxiety counseling is a treatment method and may be required given an individual's unique genetic and environmental makeup, and only a trained professional can determine the proper course of treatment for each given patient.

Learn more about our anxiety counseling services today.