Panic attack (an explanation)

Missing a step

For as long as i can remember i have suffered with severe anxiety disorder, resulting in complications in school, my social life, my job and all in all my daily life.
When you have lived with something for such a long time, you get used to the questions it brings the most frequently asked one being...
What does a panic attack feel like?
And this is my answer, Do you know when you're walking down the stairs and you miss a step? You get this feeling in your stomach and your chest, that dropping sensation, you lose your breath for a moment and have to gather yourself until you realise what just happened, The feeling in your chest and stomach is very similar to when you're having a anxiety attack only constant, it doesn't fade after a second, the feeling of not knowing what is happening is very much the same too only most of the time you're not sure of why it's happening, the confusion is accompanied by a feeling of dread, fear. And an overwhelming feeling of sickness, you're hands are clammy, often shaking and you can not focus on anything other than that overwhelming sense of fear, and that is the only thing you can think of for the duration of the attack, sometimes not even knowing what you are being "afraid" of, for those who suffer with anxiety that isn't really caused by any given thing or any specific situation anxiety can be silent, it can be undetectable and isnt always picked up on by the people around them. A panic attack is mentally and physically draining and often for me after having one all i want to do is sleep for hours, shut off the world and just sleep myself better.