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Panic Attacks and Unreality

Q. Wow!! I found your site by looking up adrenaline rush, as I have been having these odd feelings for the past three years and getting worse in the last 6 months. I have gone on group discussions on the Internet and also asked if anybody knew what my symptoms were related to (no good answers until now).

I had a complete physical and blood test and everything was fine. But your site today helped me realize, partially, what my problem is. I would like to list the following symptoms and please let me know what you think.

I can tell that I am going to get the following feelings ahead of time approx. 2-5 sec. The feeling starts as though it is a dejavu feeling and then I feel that things around me are not real. My sight and hearing are more acute, my throat gets tight only for 2 sec. I get goose bumps throughout my body. During this rush, as I call it, I have the tendency to make a weird noise like a Hmmm sound as to let people know that I am having one. After the rush, I get the odd goose bumps. The feeling is also becoming an uneasy one, as I cannot pin point when or why I get them. The only thing I can tell is that it seems to be triggered by thinking and visual reminders of the past (not necessarily negative).

A. We can't diagnose, but from your email it does sound like a classic spontaneous panic attack. Many of us have this type of attack. We have been working with this for a number of years using the theory of dissociation. Dissociation is another word for 'self-induced trance state', altered state, etc. Your symptoms:

' I can tell that I am going to get the following feelings ahead of time approx. 2-5 sec. The feeling starts as though it is a dejavu feeling and then I feel that things around me are not real. My sight and hearing are more acute, my throat gets tight only for 2 sec.'

These are dissociative symptoms. Our research and our own experience shows that the 'whoosh' happens during the dissociation. See in our 'Research' section, under 'Analysis of a Panic Attack.

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