A panic attack, also called anxiety attack, is an episode of physical and emotional anxiety symptoms. People who suffer from panic attacks or know someone who has panic attacks may wonder on average, how long does a panic attack last? Most panic attacks last for less than twenty minutes but some may last for up to a few hours.
When a person has a panic attack, their first panic attack symptoms may start slowly such as getting a sense of being threatened or that something bad is going to happen. Many times people get a stronger urge to leave the area. Typically, the symptoms reach their severest level within ten minutes of the onset of panic attack.
Panic attacks may include only mild symptoms that are emotional in nature such as a brief period of crying and feeling that something bad is going to happen, or panic attacks can cause more severe symptoms. Severe symptoms of panic attacks can include physical symptoms like an accelerated heart rate, hyperventilating, numbness, mental confusion, trembling, chest pain, dizziness, a strong fear of dying, and feeling as if the person is losing control.
People may understand what has triggered the symptoms. For example, someone with a phobia who is confronted with what they fear may start having panic attacks symptoms. In some cases, the onset of the panic attack symptoms is a mystery. A person with panic disorder may wake up in the middle of the night with a panic attack and no memory of the dream that may have triggered the anxiety attack.
Panic attacks can be a recurrent problem for the individual. Some people may have frequent panic attacks while others with recurrent panic attacks may have years between their panic attack episodes. The frequency that a person experiences panic attacks and how long panic attacks last can change over their lifetime.
How long does a panic attack last at the most? It is generally accepted that panic attacks, though usually resolved in a matter of minutes, can last for a few hours. There are reports of panic attacks lasting for years, but this is highly unlikely and may be symptoms caused by another condition or a high frequency of panic attacks that the person perceives as or describes as continuous.