What Are The Causes Of Panic Attacks?
Panic attack is characterized by sudden, intense anxiety accompanied by a range of symptoms including, heart palpitations, sweating, rapid breathing and muscle tension. Some people come to associate them with certain situations, while for others, they can occur in an apparently relaxed environment. There are several theories as to what causes panic attacks, some of them seeming more realistic than others.
There has been research into genetics as a factor. It has been shown that several members of a family may be affected by panic disorder, but personally I would think that it is more likely a learned behavior than a genetic link. If a family member has has suffered from anxiety or depression, isn’t it reasonable to assume that a child would be influenced by this?
There are those who talk about chemical imbalances in the brain and want to resort to drug treatments. This is theoretical as this so called imbalance is difficult if not impossible to measure. And of course, some doctors want to treat everything with medication. This is a theory and an approach that I wouldn’t subscribe to. It doesn’t explain why someone can cope in a real life or death situation, but panics at the idea of getting a haircut.
The actual symptoms experienced during a panic attack are the result of the body’s natural fight or flight response. It is an automatic system designed to prepare us, physically and psychologically, to deal with danger. This danger can be real or imagined.What has not been explained is why this response is triggered when there is no apparent danger.
Why, for instance, would someone react with these panic symptoms at the idea of going to a party? Because they have experienced the threat of physical danger at a party before? Probably not. Driving is another common trigger for these attacks. Although there is danger on the roads, most of don’t think about it each time we get into a car.
Another theory that has been put forward is that the root cause is exhaustion, whether physical, mental or emotional. When in this state of exhaustion, we are more sensitized and more susceptible to anxiety disorders. In this sensitized state, we can easily begin to imagine that any unusual sensation that we feel is a sign that something is seriously wrong.
This can be the start of a downward spiral. We feel the sensation. We imagine something terrible. Now the sensation feels worse. We become more worried about it. And so it goes on. You can easily appreciate that when we are already feeling that we are running on empty, small things can be blown up out of all proportion.
I am not trivializing the situation. I know how bad it can be. The perceived danger may not be real, but the feelings you experience as a result of it certainly are. But it is also true that those feelings can be turned off in a second, if what seemed to be the cause of them is removed. The key is how you are thinking about the situation and not the situation itself.
Life is becoming ever more stressful and it has been shown that prolonged exposure to stress, at higher levels than we can handle, can lead to us feeling emotionally drained. In fact, we can end up suffering from a background level of general anxiety that can make panic attacks more likely.
It has been shown that the most successful treatments for panic attacks involve changing the way we think about situations that cause stress and the feelings we get when stressed. It seems reasonable to consider our thinking as a possible cause of panic attacks. For some great, free information and resources on panic attacks, visit PanicPortal.com.
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