Not sure if it's panic or what

[raerae585]

I am a 23 yr old female. I've never been to a doctor or psychiatrist even though I know I should because I have been abused in the past and am obviously not dealing well with it. I just don't have the money to pay one. Anyway, I recently had what I thought was a panic attack but I'm not sure. I looked it up and it seems to be linked with agoraphobia, which I don't have, and it also said they come suddenly and for no reason. I don't get anxiety for no reason. It's always caused by the fear of my boyfriend not caring about me and liking someone else. I'm always afraid he is going to cheat on me and I start to freak out when he acts like he doesn't care or if there are other girls around he might like. What happens to me is my chest starts to ache and I get trembly then my arms start to burn and I breathe really fast and I can't stop moving and kicking my legs and my left hand twitches. I don't know why my left hand goes crazy and my right one is still. I also get nausea and I just feel like I wanna scream and sometimes I cry. This has lasted for more than hour. I heard panic attacks last 10 to 30 minutes, so there are some things about me that sound like I am having a panic attack, and some things that don't.

[Robbed]

The difference between a panic attack and what we might call an anxiety attack is perhaps more one of semantics than anything else. After all, when we think of panic attacks, we often think of something that has us ending up in the ER or thinking that we are going to die. But an anxiety attack, while no fun, is something we can typically bear and ride out MUCH more easily. However, some people refer to even less severe attacks of anxiety as panic attacks. So it is more difficult than you think to say whether you have panic attacks or not. As for duration, there is no set time limit for a panic/anxiety attack. Sometimes they last a long time. Sometimes they are gone in a few minutes. But it seems like, generally speaking, more severe attacks seem to be shorter.