What does anxiety/panic feel like?

[alliematt]

I do not get classic "panic attacks", i.e. I do not sweat and feel like I have had a heart attack.  But I do get very tense at times.  The last couple of days, I have felt tense and anxious, especially at the computer.  I've been doing a lot of proofreading work this week and one job in particular really exhausted me. 

There are times a "switch flips" in my brain and it shuts down, saying, "No more, I can't do anything more." 

Could these be symptoms of anxiety/panic attacks?

[dreamriver]

Hi Allie Matt  I have had panic attacks that really just don't fit the textbook symptoms like you described. I had them on and off through my life and since they just didn't seem like other people's, I didn't do anything about them and didn't know what they were.

My anxiety has been very suppressed throughout my life, so the way it comes out is not smooth. It feels like an unbearable mixture of tension and depression that culminates into something very physical, anger, pacing that I can't stop, and some hyperventilating. Sometimes I feel like I might die. I may have a very tight chest. But not much sweating and never thought it was a heart attack.

*Trigger Warning* - I will sometimes think about self harm or suicide during these moments but it passes.

I'm not sure if what you're having is a panic attack but it does sound like anxiety sensory overwhelm! Do you feel like you want to shut down and hide? Or lie still when that switch goes off in your brain? Extreme exhaustion after? That's kind of an alarm for me that my flight/fight/freeze is going off and that's definitely anxiety!

[alliematt]

This week, what it felt like is, "No more, I can't do this anymore."

Specifically, it came while trying to work on a proofing job.  Proofing work is tedious to begin with.  That's just the nature of the job.  I also work on a 24-hour deadline normally (sometimes I will get two days or I will work over the weekend).  I also work on depositions for civil cases, so it's important that the transcripts are as accurate as possible.  Most depositions are being done by video, and sometimes the sound quality is not the world's best. 

I think what happened was a reaction to one job after the other.  And I am also feeling very frustrated with being unable to keep on top of the household chores.  Mondays are the hardest (first of all, they're Mondays  ) because, among other things, I need to stop and make dinner.  What i wanted to do last Monday, I just didn't have the time to do so we ended up getting dinner out. 

I am very much a perfectionist and that's the source of a lot of my anxiety.