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How Long Does an Anxiety Attack Last?

Anxiety is a mental condition that causes a person to feel fearful even when external conditions do not warrant it. Various factors can cause the abnormal fear, and the length of the anxiety attack can vary depending on the cause.

  1. Types of Anxiety Attacks

    • Anxiety attacks cover a range from intense but relatively brief panic attacks to chronic anxiety, recurring phobias, post-traumatic stress or long-term anxiety that leads to obsessive-compulsive behavior.

    Panic Attacks

    • A panic attack is an intense and sudden anxiety attack with physical symptoms such as chest pain or heart palpitations, or feeling dizzy, nauseous or being unable to catch your breath. The attack comes on quickly but also tends to resolve itself within about a half-hour. However, panic attacks may combine with other worries, and they tend to recur.

    General Anxiety Attacks

    • People who are tense on a daily basis, even for no specific cause, may be diagnosed as having generalized anxiety disorder. This low-key sense of anxiety tends to pervade the person's life and cause symptoms of fatigue and edginess for several months, even years, without treatment.

    Phobic Attacks

    • People with specific phobias become anxious when confronted with a particular situation such as a fear of flying, height, crowds or open spaces, fear of an animal or object, or any other such specific condition. The anxiety can occur during that limited amount of time when they must deal with the situation or it can last longer in cases where the person knows the situation will occur, such as when planning a trip by plane. The thought of the trip increases the anxiety level in advance, either evoking an avoidance or culminating in the the actual attack when faced with the fear itself.

    Social Phobias

    • People can fear appearing at social functions, and one of the most pervasive fears in the general populace is public speaking. People with this fear may avoid it but if forced will have many of the same symptoms of a panic attack. Social phobics may suffer tension for weeks or months before an event they fear.

    Obsessive-Compulsive Attacks

    • Those with obsessive-compulsive disorder tend to have ongoing anxiety based on thoughts of danger to themselves or others. To deal with these anxieties, the person will try to control his life through repetition of either mental or physical acts that take up an inordinate amount of time, such as repetitive prayers or counting, double-checking door locks, or washing hands repeatedly.

    Post-Traumatic Stress

    • People who suffer severe trauma, such as violence to themselves or others, may develop an acute response that limits their ability to function appropriately. When the condition lasts more than a month, it is often considered to be post-traumatic stress. It may last for a relatively brief time and resolve itself in a few months, or the person may develop a long-term, chronic anxiety lasting years if not treated.

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