Didn't know I had Anxiety Attacks for YEARS

Yeah, looking back at it now, I think it's dumb for me not to realize it.

I actually never looked up the symptoms of anxiety or panic attacks until recently. Just videos online of people breathing heavily and loudly to try and calm themselves down. For me, whenever I had anxiety attacks, I never knew how to get rid of it besides to just walk outside and it would go away. So my logic was, "Okay, my reaction is different than the people I see on videos. Therefore, I don't have anxiety attacks."

I never correlated thinking about the stress I was/am having in my life to the chocking sensation I have between my adam's apple and chest. There were many sleepless nights when I'm chocking like crazy and not knowing why . Whenever I get ready for classes, I get the chocking sensation again, and I would think it's my shirt or my backpack. I would adjust them, but it didn't work. So I just think "Whatever, going outside will make this choking sensation go away."

But the last year, I've been using A LOT of ASMR. Not for my anxiety (still didn't know about it), but just for fun and to try it out. And many of them had a similar phrase. "Let all the stress out." And it worked. Some ASMR audios worked longer than others. And i guess I somehow connected that phrase to Anxiety and a lightbulb went in my head. "Wait, I think the reason I've been having choking sensations and rapid heartbeats is because I have anxiety attacks from thinking stressful things."

I don't know where I'm going with this. I just thought it was funny and stupid, and just wanted to share this

Every person I've ever known to suffer from anxiety all have different reactions: some become irrationally angry and will suddenly go to another room or outdoors to cool down, others hyperventilate (often to the point that it sounds like they're about to puke), and others still become extremely fidgety and excited, even if whatever triggered them was negative. I, myself, can't catch my breath, and on extreme occasions, need to scream it out in order to get back my control.

Have you ever been officially diagnosed?

Medication and therapy can help dude. Please don't hesitate to see a psychiatrist or psychologist or even both if you haven't already.