What are panic attacks?

A panic attack is like your body suddenly jumping into a race when there’s no finish line in sight.

Imagine you're playing on the swings at the park, having the time of your life, and poof! Your heart starts pounding like it's trying to knock down a door, your chest feels tight like someone tied a shoelace around it, and all of a sudden, everything seems strange, like the sky is watching you. That’s a panic attack, your body thinks something super important just happened, even if nothing really did.

Sometimes, your brain gets confused and thinks there's danger when there isn’t. It’s like your alarm clock ringing in the middle of the night, but instead of waking up for school, you're suddenly wide awake and feeling scared, not because something is wrong, but just because your brain said so.

Your body goes into "fight or flight" mode, which means it gets ready to run or fight, even if you’re sitting in a classroom. Your breathing might get faster, your legs might feel wobbly, and everything around you might seem bigger or more intense than usual.

It’s like your brain said, “Hey, something is wrong!”, but your body just went along for the ride.