People often use the terms “anxiety attack” and “panic attack” interchangeably but in reality, they are very different. If you have experienced the debilitating intensity of a panic attack, you’re familiar with the distress one can cause and the lingering worry that accompanies it’s passing.
While anxiety has roots in future-oriented worry and manifests as a more low-level distress of extended duration, panic attacks are acute, coming on quickly and often without specific reason. Everyone experiences their own unique cluster of symptoms during a panic attack including both physical and emotional distress.