What Causes Panic Attacks?

You’re watching a suspenseful film at home. And your heart starts to pound out of nowhere. It feels like you can’t breath, your face heats up, and your fingers begin to tingle. These sensations are familiar to you, and your mind returns to a familiar thought.

I have a heart attack and am dying.

You are alive and reading this article. It turned out that it was another panic attack.

Panic attacks are frightening, especially when they occur suddenly. Imagine you are having a panic attack just before you take a test, or give a speech. Or when you see flashing lights from the police in your car. However, it can still be frightening and very uncomfortable. The fear may reach extreme proportions when attacks seem to come from nowhere.

Understanding your triggers will help you to overcome panic attacks and reduce your anxiety.

The fight-or flight response

Your body’s response to danger is called the fight-or-flight reaction. A strong anxiety response can help. You would want to be able to quickly react if a motorcycle comes towards you as you cross the street.

Some people may experience extreme stress in situations that aren’t appropriate. People try to find the cause of intense body sensations when there is no external stressor. And people often believe that something is wrong physically or mentally.

What causes panic attacks in people?

People are more likely to experience repeated panic attacks due to genetic and biological factors. These are other risk factors.

Fear of Anxiety: High anxiety sensitivity: Studies have shown that people who suffer from recurring panic attacks are more likely to experience high anxiety sensitivity (fears of anxiety sensations). They give too much attention HTML to their bodies in order to make sure everything is okay.

Most people don’t notice changes in their body sensations. High anxiety sensitive people can mistakenly interpret harmless body sensations as dangerous, and trigger panic attacks.

Beliefs regarding the risk of mental and physical problems: There are some people who believe they are at high risk for developing mental or physical disorders. Perhaps they have a history of childhood illness or have lost a loved-one to heart attack. However, they worry about a family member with schizophrenia. Maybe they fell and became afraid of fainting.

This could lead to someone feeling vulnerable misinterpreting anxiety or panic symptoms as signs of a heart attack, “going insane” or fainting. These types of fears are often accompanied by high anxiety levels.

Fear of previous attacks: Panic attacks can be associated with certain situations. One example is when someone drives on the freeway to get to a job interview and becomes anxious. Then they are having a panic attack. They might then associate freeway driving and panic attacks with fear of losing control of their car or causing an accident. And they might avoid driving on the freeway because of this fear.

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How to identify your triggers

1. Consider your first panic attack. What was the situation? And what stress were you experiencing in your life? What were your symptoms? Did you believe you were dying, losing control, or going “crazy”? 
2. Consider panic attacks that you have had in the past and ask the same questions as for your first panic attack. Look for patterns. Note any situations that you avoid to prevent another panic attack. 
3. Write down your triggers. These are just a few examples:

When my heart beats fast, or I hear of someone suffering from a heart attack I suspect I am having one.

Moreover, when I panic I lose my concentration on something.

I panic when I find myself in an uncomfortable situation, such as in a dentist’s chair or in a crowd.

Use your trigger knowledge.

Once you’ve identified your triggers here are some ways to use that information.

Feelings: Even if you feel like they are coming from nowhere, remember that this is normal. You are more likely to become hyper-aware about body sensations as you are more susceptible to panic attacks. For additional tips on reducing body awareness, you can refer to the previous post that I wrote.

Thoughts Think back to other times when you panicked and the outcome was not what you feared. If you are afraid of dying in an attack, think about how many times that you have thought this and how many times it actually happened. Even though panic attacks can feel dangerous, they aren’t actually that dangerous. Talk to your doctor if you have any health concerns (e.g. heart attacks) to get relief.

Situations Be aware that panic attacks can occur if you’re going to a situation where you feel anxious or panicky. All panic attacks are temporary and harmless. You will be fine. Avoid panic attacks if you feel the need to avoid situations that may trigger them. Avoidance makes things worse. You can help yourself to get through this situation by reminding yourself that panic attacks don’t have to be dangerous and that every panic attack will pass.

Panic attacks at night can feel frightening and overwhelming. You can conquer panic attacks by learning more about your triggers.

Engrace Behavioral Health