When i get upset my heart beats very rapidly, i get light headed and shaky and it takes hours to feel normal again. it also keeps me from being able to sleep at all if it happens at night...shortness of breath, heart pounds...it also feels and sounds like

Hello. : Hello. I can not diagnose the cause of your symptoms. It could be consistent with panic attacks. Panic attacks are usually brief. They often last a couple of minutes to around ten minutes. Symptoms can include a sense of severe anxiety or panic as well as chest tightness or pain and a rapid or pounding heartbeat. There could also be areas of numbness or pins and needles type sensation. A person can experience hot flashes or chills and perspire heavily. There may be a tickle sensation in the stomach or nausea. When a person has a panic attack they may feel dizzy or faint and may become physically shaky. The person may fear that they are going crazy, they are out of control or that they are about to die. There can be a sense that you feel unreal (dissassociation called depersonalization) or the sense that everything around you feels fake (derealization). It is very important to have a full physical evaluation to rule out possible underlying medical problems. If you are not found to have a medical problem causing your symptoms then recommend that you see either a psychiatrist or a psychologist to get help with this.