Can someone describe what a panic attack feels like?!

Can someone describe what a panic attack feels like?

I've really stressed lately. Now I find myself really upset, it gets harder and harder for me to breathe and there is a dull pain starting in my chest and seems to get worse when something new (in a bad way) comes up. It's like it never ends and my head is burning up from the anger. Am I on the way to having a panic attack? I've tried breathing in deeply, taking a break from work, smoking a cigarette, etc.

From experience, I can tell you panic attacks come in a palethera of variations. There's the one you describe: The I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack and just die right here kind. (Those are fun, so fun , the E.R. sees them daily.) Then there are the, I feel paranoid, can't stand in a checkout line ones that send many fleeing the store leaving grocery basket in middle of aisle 7. Then there are the What I'd really like to do is just find a comfy spot in hall closet for awhile till my pulse slows down a tad. It can all be draining..and pi** you off, to put it mildly...You have to take along deep breathe, hold it, then release air SSLLOOWWLLYY..and do this for about a minute..don't hyperventilate, or you'll feel like your suffocating..DONE IT!! I take antidepressents and it helps the anxiety. Don't listen to Tom Cruise and his pompous attitude towards meds. He's not anxious, he's just NUTS!..period....