Am I having a panic attack?

Im confused whether or not its just my anxiety kicking in, or if its an actual panic attack. When im at my peak of nervousness, like when I'm in a situation I dont want to be in, or just feel uncomfortable in my surrounding,  I cant focus or think straight, I feel like my whole body is weighing on me and I feel funny walking if  Im trembling, my mouth gets dry, and I get sweaty and worried about what is happening with me, and who can see that im nervous- Is that considered a panic attack?

[AnxiousGurl]

Sorry I forgot to add, If I dont want to go somewhere, like in the store while im sitting in my car, and I turn around and go home, is that also a panic attack, or just my anxiety taking over me?

[amish1979]

There is a fine line between your anxiety kicking in and a panic attack.  If you choose to accept how you are feeling as what it is, instead of taking it as impending doom, you should be able to escape relatively unscathed.   If you are "tricked" by your mind into thinking how you feel is a precursor to something worse, the panic attack is right around the corner.

When you let your anxiety/panic dictate your daily activites, that is BAD.  You may think that it is helping you feel better, which is does in the short-term.  But the long term affect is that your anxiety will keep you from participating in certain activities.

It will start with you turning around at the store and going home.  After your anxiety has fully convinced you that the store is unsafe it will move onto something else, maybe the movie theater, maybe restaurants, maybe just plain old driving.  Every time you turn around or decide against doing something simply because of your anxiety, you are giving it power and allowing it to take away your activities.

I have been guilty of doing the same thing for YEARS!

After reading several books on the topic I have finally realized that by avoiding certain activities in order for self-preservation, I was actually making things worse for myself in the long run.  Yes it's scary to do these things that our mind is tricking us into thinking are unsafe, but the more you do them the more power you have over your anxiety.  Eventually you have retrained yourself and your mind will no longer give you these false senses of impending doom for certain places and activities.