Understand Why You Panic

Most people are unaware of what triggers panic attacks. Being overly anxious about things causes this situation. Being able to understand how anxiety affects one will help you deal with this condition. Anxiety is defined as being in a state of constant worry or irrational fear resulting from an anticipation of a real or perceived threat, situation or activity. Anxiety is a common human reaction felt by people at some point in their lives. However, most people who have never experienced extreme anxiety, cannot understand the frightening nature it.

One may be subject to extreme dizziness; blurred vision; numbness or tingling sensations; hot flushes and erratic breathing; trembling or shaking; sweating; fear of dying; chest pain or discomfort; accelerated heart rate; nausea and choking. These symptoms are clear indicators of anxiety. When feelings of this nature happen, people are overwhelmed to the extent of thinking that they are going insane.

This threat of not being in absolute control of one’s mind appears very real and naturally frightening. Anxiety is our body’s natural response to any danger or threat, because all of its effects are directed towards rebelling or running from the danger. The sole function of anxiety is actually to protect the person from danger.

This may appear doubtful to sufferers who feel that anxiety is actually causing more harm and is the main culprit of an impending attack. Possibly one of the most terrifying effects is the fear of being smothered or suffocated. It is a common experience during a panic attack to feel tightness in the chest and throat areas.

Some people might have personally experienced breathlessness which leads to a cycle of anxiety, as they feared their breathing may stop and that they may never recover. Contrary to popular belief, an attack does not stop your breathing. It actually increases the speed and depth of your breathing. This is an auto response of the survival mechanism in your body to increase more oxygen into your body tissues.

Some bodily sensations you may experience by this increased breathing, include breathlessness, hyperventilation, choked or smothered feelings, and possibly pain or tightness in the chest region. A side effect of increased breathing is that the blood supply to the head actually decreases. While such decrease is insignificant and not life threatening, it does however result in some unpleasant but harmless symptoms like confusion, blurred vision, dizziness, hot flushes and a sense of unreality.

People are puzzled over the nature of a fight/flight response activated during a panic attack and are unable to dispel their fears despite being told there is apparently nothing to be frightened of. It’s only natural for people to be afraid of the sensations as it appears as if your body is losing control. The unnatural physical symptoms aroused panic or fear that something is not right with your body.

It certainly does not make any sense to the people as to why these terrifying physical symptoms manifest in a fight/flight response, if you are not frightened initially. Studies show that symptoms can appear in many ways, not just through one’s fear.

If you have ever been stressed for some reason in your lifetime, this stress may result in an increase in the production of adrenaline and other chemicals over a period of time, which may ultimately produce symptoms, thought to be responsible for panic reaction. This excess adrenaline continues to be retained chemically in the body long after the stress has disappeared.

Diet has also been known to directly affect one’s stress level. Excess caffeine, alcohol, drugs and substance abuse or sugar also create stress in the body, and all are believed to be contributing factors of panic attacks. Unresolved emotions can also be considered a factor.