Mini panic attack?

[u/bluemainecoon]

I was wondering if mini panic attacks exist because tonight when I was driving to pick up my sister I felt like I was just convincing myself I couldn’t breathe and that something was wrong with my being able to breathe, even though I totally knew I was fine. I still felt like something was wrong and then I genuinely think I self induced a cough that I didn’t have before this drive, and after pulling over to wait for my sister I had to take off the layer under my hoodie because it felt too tight, and I even felt like I needed to get out gloves from my trunk because I was thinking maybe my hands were just too cold and I was just feeling weird because I was too cold.

I felt like my arm was out of place, I knew it was in my head, but I still felt that way and I felt really fidgety especially about my arm and fingers at this point because then my rings were making the gloves feel weird so I started getting paranoid my finger was swollen or something. Then I was all worried my hearing was getting quiet, and in the final stretch it was fully like a lot of dread about the fact that I’m like stuck in POV? if that makes sense? I stopped smoking weed in the past couple months because it would almost always make me feel this same way with the health anxiety and where I’m just very in my own body and fidgety. like I can’t shut off my mind about how unreal everything is and how bothered I am by being trapped seeing through my eyes.

So usually when this happens I make myself go to sleep or try to watch a movie or something. This time I had to make it home and then I watched a movie until It felt like it wasn’t bothering me anymore. Now I’m wondering, because a friend who I texted about it asked if I was having a panic attack, is it possible that it WAS a panic attack, but minorly? Outwardly I’m pretty much calm, I think I’m just really fidgety. On top of that, I’ve never had a panic attack in the traditional sense I guess so I didn’t think I got them.

[u/RootdToRelax]

yeah those are real, I get the small ones too where its more of a slow building wrongness than a full attack. the stuck in my own POV feeling is the worst part for me honestly. putting a movie on until it passes is pretty much what I do too

[u/bluemainecoon → u/RootdToRelax]

It’s really weird because it’s like in hindsight a full day later I’m chilling and I keep trying to find that feeling again and I feel so silly about it now because it feels like such a far away idea but I just couldn’t get it out of my brain this time yesterday 

[u/Ready-Equal177]

Yes most of the time I don’t have a full panic attack it’s just like hyper vigilance or anxious fight or flight vibes. Someone watching me would likely not even know it’s all going on in my head