What anxiety "feels" like

This week has been a particularly bad week for anxiety. I know that the big life changes going on are a huge contributing factor but it doesn't necessarily make it easier to manage the uncontrollable anxiety symptoms that feel paralyzing. What exactly does it feel like to have anxiety? I assume this is a little different for everyone and I can only tell you how it makes me feel. Almost always, even on "normal" days, I feel a constant nervousness that is difficult to explain. It is sort of just a nagging sensation in my stomach that feels like normal anxiousness you might feel when you actually have something to feel nervous about. I can usually manage this pretty well as I have really grown accustomed to it. Sometimes it makes me grumpy or keeps me from saying yes to things that I would really like to do but I know it would make me too nervous. Usually I can distract myself with other things and just go on about my day.
On severe days (or in this case severe weeks) it is paralyzing. My heart races, my hands and sometimes my body shakes, and my mind will NOT stop thinking about things I do not want to be thinking about. Sometimes I want to cry and I do but other times I think I would feel better if I cried and I can't. My stomach hurts, my chest feels tight, and it seems like there is not enough oxygen in the world, let-alone in the room, to breathe. Sometimes instead of crying or feeling anxious, my anxiety shifts to anger and I think that is because it is easier in my brain to justify anger than irrational fear. I want to sleep because all of the thinking and my body working overtime to adjust to all the adrenaline is exhausting; but, typically I can't sleep or I can't sleep long because I am restless and uncomfortable. I am extremely aware of my heart beating, I can hear it and feel it like after you exercise vigorously. Ummm it is hard to explain my thought-process because it is fragmented and busy. Sometimes I get dizzy or things seem surreal. My arms and legs feel tingly and heavy. Not at all pleasant.
These "spells" (sounds like an old lady word lol) last a few minutes up to a few hours. Sometimes these "spells" happen once a day or several times a day and even sometimes seem to go on all day to some extent. Sometimes though the severe "attacks" will not happen for several weeks at a time (except that weird nagging nervousness that I always feel, which seems sort of "normal" after weeks like this one).
I think that the people closest to me can sense my anxiety in several ways. One,I am usually super grumpy when they get bad but less subtle cues are that my hands shake a lot, and I have to consciously take really deep breaths (mostly because it feels like I can't breathe). Sometimes they don't pick up on it right away and I actually have to say the words..."I am really anxious right now". Their response is usually "why, what's wrong" to which I almost never have an answer.
Sometimes I wonder if the whole world can tell that I am not "normal"...
Next post: What are my triggers?