Hi E, Welcome to the site. Thanks for sending us your question. It sounds like all of the symptoms you have described can be related to panic and anxiety. There are different intensities of each of these emotions/experiences. There is a difference between a panic attack versus panic disorder. When a person has feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning (a panic attack) she or he may develop panic disorder. A panic attack is a brief episode of intense fear and it is usually accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. In scientific terms, panic attacks are thought to occur when the brain's normal mechanism for reacting to a threat €“ the so-called "fight or flight" response €“ gets "switched on" at the wrong time. Panic attacks usually last for a few minutes but may continue for much longer. Most panic attacks are at their worst between 10 and 30 minutes after they begin. The symptoms usually fade over the course of about an hour. Panic disorder is different from a one-time or isolated attack because it€™s characterized by panic attacks that are repeated and unexpected. The panic attacks occur when the person is not in any real threat or danger. People who suffer from repeated panic attacks soon learn that they can't predict the next attack and they start to worry about when and where the next one will happen. Because of this constant worrying, they often start to avoid situations where they think they might have a panic attack or where they think help might not be available if they need it. Avoiding situations like this is unhealthy since it can develop into what are called specific panic-induced phobias (like a fear of driving) or agoraphobia (which is when a person is unable to go beyond known and safe surroundings because of extreme fear and anxiety). Avoiding places because of agoraphobia can lead to serious disability and a serious case of panic disorder. Please be sure to take your time with the program here. This will help to ensure that you are able to get the most out of the program to help with how you have been feeling. It is a treatment program thats all about getting you actively involved in your ow

I'm just starting the panic program and I'm a little confused. I read all the information in session one and I took the anxiety test. It's clear to me I have anxiety problems, and I know I've had at least one honest to goodness panic attack where I couldn't move, thought i was having a heart attack, got chills, thought i was dying and started sobbing uncontrollably. That was a few years ago though. I've always had times when my heart races, i feel like im in danger when logically i know i'm not and i get hot flashes and my hands go numb. These aren't anywhere near as intense as the panic attack I described before, and Im not sure if they are panic attacks at all. I don't freeze and I don't think im dying. Are these panic attacks? i definitely avoid situations because of them, but I'm still not sure if I'm in the right place. Also, a month ago I had an incident where I had several symptoms of a panic attack and ended up fainting. Does the fact I fainted mean it was not a panic attack? sorry this message is so long. I'm moving and won't have a doctor for another month, so I thought i'd give this a shot and see if I can figure this out. Thanks