What is a Panic Attack?
In short, a panic attack is an attack of very intense fear. In a panic attack, a person fears for their life. The fear is so intense that it is almost impossible to concentrate on anything.
A panic attack is the body’s “fight or flight” reaction. When a person finds a situation threatening, his body activates all resources to cope with it. This mechanism is built into us. This is how the “ancient brain” reacts to danger. When dealing with panic attacks and anxiety-phobic disorders, we often talk about a hyper reaction to not the most terrible situations. This reaction is formed by what we think about the situation, how we assess it, and how we interpret it ourselves.
When a panic attack occurs, it is as if the whole body is preparing to meet a serious danger. A person is terrified that he will faint or die right now. That’s why breathing speeds up, and the blood pressure rises. The body engages the evolutionary mechanism designed to save man from death. It turns out that the psyche is reacting to a danger that doesn’t really exist.
Signs of a Panic Attack
Next, let’s understand what the signs of a panic attack are.
Most often, a panic attack occurs with feelings of dread and fear. The most common symptoms are chest pain, shortness of breath, and shallow and rapid breathing. There is also a feeling of cotton legs, trembling, sweating, dry mouth, and a wave of heat to the head. All the symptoms of anxiety look something like this. A panic attack is an intense experience of anxiety.
During a panic attack, bodily sensations themselves cause fear. Sometimes trying to make sense of what is going on leads to scary thoughts creeping into one’s head. They only increase anxiety and, consequently, the panic attack itself.
In fact, panic is an extreme manifestation of anxiety. It can be triggered by the most typical, simple, and short thoughts. For example, panic can begin with the idea: “It’s stuffy here. Or a classic of the genre: “It’s started!” If a person feels, for example, dizzy, he may interpret this condition as something threatening. Thinks he has brain cancer or something wrong with his health, and now he’s going to faint, and everything will be bad. A person tends to believe these thoughts automatically. In fact, they may be lying.
The leading psychological cause of panic attacks is the avoidance of unpleasant emotions and the habit of not paying attention to them. It is the same with bodily sensations. Not paying attention to physical sensations intensifies a panic attack.
Causes of Panic Attacks in Your Life
The trigger for a panic attack can be overwork and being in a stressful situation for an extended period. Abuse of alcohol, energy drinks, and even coffee increases the risk of an attack.
Often people are convinced that anxiety helps them. It’s always a story of hyper-control. They think that if they are always on guard, watching their reactions and what’s happening around them, they can prepare for some negative outcome. This state of “always being on the alert” and anticipating the worst possible outcome leads to a panic attack.
It is such an attempt to control. But it is impossible to control everything. It is impossible to control everything with your body. It is impossible to control everything that happens around you. And panic attacks are launched every time a person stumbles upon the fact that he loses control of the situation. For example, a person thinks: “It’s too stuffy here. So soon I’ll get a headache, feel dizzy, faint, hit my head, and no one will help me.
The very idea of losing control anywhere in a public place is frightening. Therefore, people prone to panic attacks prefer to spend less time actively and more often choose to sit at home. This is how panic attacks become the cause of agoraphobia.
Frequent Seizures – This is Panic Disorder
Frequent attacks are already a panic disorder and can become chronic. People with chronic panic disorder live with restrictions and cannot entirely do the things they enjoy. Nevertheless, these restrictions do not help prevent panic attacks. Forced isolation leads to general emotional depression. The lack of communication and new experiences only increases anxiety and fear.
It is unrealistic to die from a panic attack. It is a defensive reaction of the body. It is designed for it. A panic attack, by the way, does not last long – from a few to twenty minutes. It is not a very long state. Of course, it is very painful, but it passes by itself. Panic attacks are not life-threatening in any way.
Panic disorder is a little different. The person is constantly tense and afraid that: “This is going to happen again. I’m going to have another panic attack. Then he begins to avoid many things. For example, he avoids going to the supermarket, going somewhere, or meeting with someone. This dramatically affects the quality of life. But it is pretty natural to be cured of panic disorder.
As a rule, the panic disorder becomes chronic in those who think panic attacks will go away on their own. They are afraid to try psychotherapy and talk about their problems, so they prefer to deal with panic attacks on their own. It is still worth consulting a psychologist for consultation if panic attacks occur once every few months and even more so if more often.
How To Cope With Panic Attacks and Reduce The Risk of Their Occurrence
To begin with, it is necessary to make panic attacks not so scary. A psychologist will also show you breathing exercises to help you regain control of yourself during the attack.
Here, of course, you can try to cope yourself. For example, there is literature that may help. It really helps someone and alleviates their condition. But there is no feedback: “What am I doing so/wrong? It is more effective to undergo psychotherapy. Then a psychologist can help overcome the learned patterns of negative thinking. This habit of thinking the worst, anticipating, and catastrophizing.
Sometimes people come in with this request: “I want to never worry.” But this is unrealistic. Life is basically about some anxiety. The ability to experience and process it is where a psychologist can help very effectively.
The primary prevention of panic attacks is taking care of yourself and your quality of life. The likelihood of attacks is seriously reduced if you have no reason for severe anxiety and stress. When a person’s lifestyle involves constant nervous exhaustion, he should consider seeing a psychologist. You should not wait for the first panic attack.
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