It might be difficult to distinguish between an anxiety attack and a panic attack. Some important distinctions are: Panic episodes are generally unprovoked and occur in reaction to a perceived stressor. Anxiety attacks can start slowly and the tension is build up over minutes, hours, or days. During panic episodes, intense symptoms are typical. You can even experience a sense of disconnection from reality. Panic attacks, like rapidly-moving storms, usually pass much less than an hour. Anxiety episodes, on the other hand, might linger for a long time.