PSA for all ya'll

can I just say how annoying it is when people throw around the words “panic attack”? I don’t know if any people on the internet tonight have had severe panic attacks or are diagnosed with panic disorder like me, but it is really frustrating. When I get a panic attack (and I recognize that all symptoms are different) I usually hallucinate, shake/convulse, my vision goes blank, I disassociate (I feel like I am outside of my body/dreaming), throat feels like it is closing up, sweating, muscles seize, heart races/hurts and I cant breathe. Many people who have an attack for the first time go to the hospital because they think they are having a heart attack. I have been to the hospital many times and they usually happen out of the blue. That means they can happen literally anywhere, anytime. I have had panic attacks on dates, in class, at the movies, at work, in cafes, at restaurants at sports practices and even during sex. Especially with finals week right now everybody seems to be saying things like “I keep getting all this big panic attacks haha” or “Oh my gosh I am literally having a freaking panic attack right now haha” In a light joking manner to describe stress of finals. Intense stress and anxiety does not equal a panic attack. When this kind of thing gets thrown into popular jargin it de-legitimizes the severity of intense panic attacks. Often when I reveal to people that i have panic attacks they think I mean I am simply an anxious person, they don’t understand that several times a week my body and mind literally think they are dying. So PSA with finals make sure you are managing/talking about your stress and anxiety, but don’t miss-use words pertaining to anxiety disorders. It can make people who suffer from sever anxiety and mental illness feel really lonely, misunderstood and sucky.