Panic Attack and Seizure - How to Tell the Difference
Is It a Panic Attack or a Seizure? Signs & How to Tell
We are living in a world of continuous updates on both local and global turmoil, which significantly impacts mental health. Constant exposure to distressing news fosters fear and uncertainty, leading to increased levels of stress, anxiety, panic attacks, and even seizures. As a result, more individuals are experiencing mental and emotional vulnerabilities in their daily lives.
Introduction
Panic attacks and seizures are distinct health conditions that cause physical symptoms and intense fear. A seizure is the result of abnormal brain electrical activity, whereas a panic attack is a result of mental health distress.
This blog focuses on differentiating panic attacks and seizures, including a discussion of symptoms and preventive measures.
What Defines a Panic Attack?
A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense distress or anxiety that results in a physical sensation of extreme and unexpected fear. It can occur unexpectedly and frequently with a strong physical response to react to non-threatening and ordinary situations. A panic attack can happen due to several disorders that impact mental condition, including anxiety, phobias, psychosis, stressors, and trauma-related disorders.
What to Understand About Seizures?
Seizures are particular medical events that occur due to abnormal brain activity. Severe traumatic brain injury, electrolyte problems, hormonal changes, autoimmune inflammation, and congenital brain problems or abnormalities cause seizures.
It causes drastic changes in muscle control and awareness, such as sensory disturbance and behaviour issues in the suffering person. This condition disables the brain system from capturing and storing new memories.
What is the Prevalence of Panic Attacks and Seizures?
In 2019, around 301 million individuals suffered from several anxiety disorders and experienced significant panic attacks. Currently, 4% of the global population are suffering from anxiety disorder that triggers panic attacks. However, only 1 person among 4 people is receiving effective treatment for panic disorders.
In 2024, the WHO reported that epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people worldwide, causing recurrent seizures. Moreover, 5 million people in the world are diagnosed each year with epilepsy, characterised by seizures. With proper medicines, around 70% of people with epilepsy can be seizure-free.
How do Panic Attacks and Seizures Differ in Terms of Characteristics?
Differentiating panic attack and seizure features can help display a better understanding of diagnosis and treatment strategies to build a better quality. Here are some important points in the table that highlight the difference:
| Characteristics | Panic Attack | Seizure |
| Causes | Family history and adverse childhood experiences, such as negative experiences that become traumatic events, usually contribute to panic disorder. | Brain tumours, aneurysms, cerebral hypoxia, diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases, eclampsia, epilepsy, and genetic conditions lead to seizures. |
| Consciousness | During a panic attack, the majority of people are aware of their surroundings and feelings and can react responsibly and interact with other people. | People who have seizures lose consciousness of what they are doing or how they are reacting due to a temporary disruption in normal nerve system activities. |
| Duration | A panic attack lasts a maximum of 10 to 20 minutes, which involves hyperventilation and rapid breathing. | Seizures last for only 2 to 3 minutes. According to doctors, a longer duration of panic attacks can trigger seizures. |
| Movement Repetition | People with panic disorder do not tend to do repetitive activities or movements. | People living with seizures often perform uncontrollable and repetitive movements, including leg cycling, lip smacking, and jerking. |
| After Effects | They feel brain fog, fatigue, discomfort, embarrassment, and tiredness due to the psychological toll of the experiences. | Patients may experience disorientation, confusion, injury, and feel weak, sleepy, as aftereffects of seizures. |
| Age of Occurrence | Panic attacks affect people from all age groups, but young adults are commonly affected by panic attacks. The onset of panic disorder in older people and younger people is rare. | Older people over 60 years are more susceptible to having seizures. Additionally, older people who have experienced any head injury and other neurological conditions like stroke and dementia increased risk of having seizures. |
What are the Symptoms of Panic Attacks?
A family history of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety disorders makes one more susceptible to panic attacks. A person can suddenly experience a panic attack with some physical signs. Here are the major symptoms of panic attacks:
- Irrational and anxious thinking
- Strong feelings of danger and dread
- Feeling chest pain
- Fear of losing control, dying or going mad
- Chills and tingling in the hands and arms
- Fast heartbeat
- Sweating and trembling
- Dizziness and a light headache
- Tense muscles
- Facing breathing difficulties or shortness
- Hot flushes
- Abdominal distress
- Nausea
- Social detachment and feeling unrealistic
What are the common signs and symptoms of seizures?
Symptoms of seizure vary depending on the particular location in the brain where it occurs. The following points indicate physical and neurological expressions, such as symptoms of seizures.
- Loss of consciousness
- Performing repetitive activities or movements
- Walking aimlessly
- Behaving abnormally, such as suddenly shouting out
- Twitching, shaking, or jerking
- Lip smacking
- Loss of muscle tone
- Becoming unresponsive
- Hallucinations, improper hearing, or seeing or feeling non-existent or abnormal things
- Becoming confused and vague
- Drooling
- Loss of bowel control
What is the relation between panic attacks and seizures?
Sometimes, a panic attack also looks similar to seizures, which can result in misdiagnosis of people with different mental disorders. Both conditions are scary, creating fear of being injured or hurt and anxiety regarding long-term health problems.
Apart from that, panic attacks generally last longer compared to seizures. Panic attacks cause hyperventilation, which is rapid or slow breathing. Hyperventilation forces a person to exhale CO₂, which leads to an imbalance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood cells. Around 87-100% of children are found to trigger seizures due to hyperventilation.
How to Deal with Seizures and Panic Attacks?
People living with any of these distinct conditions may be incapable of performing basic daily activities if they are not treated effectively.
Treatment options for panic attacks include:
- Medications
- Stress management therapy
- Biofeedback therapy
- Relaxation therapies
- Psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy
- Lifestyle improvement, attention to exercise, diet, and sleep
At the same time, seizure treatment strategies are listed below.
- Antiepileptic drugs
- Following a ketogenic diet includes low-carbohydrate and high-fat foods.
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation
- Surgery
Final Words
Differentiating panic and seizure helps respond to the right treatment and assistance. A panic attack generally lasts for 10 to 20 minutes, whereas seizures last for only 2 to 3 minutes. During a panic attack, most people are aware of their surroundings, but during seizures, people feel unconscious and are not aware.
As symptoms of a panic attack, people experience rapid heartbeat, sweating, and fear. Conversely, individuals face unusual sensations, unresponsiveness, numbness, and hallucinations as symptoms of a seizure.
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