Stop Panic Attacks Now In One Easy Step

A panic attack is a common and perhaps one of the most common symptoms associated with anxiety. It is a psychological and physiological reaction to a person, situation, event, memory or circumstance that is thought of by an individual to be some sort of threat. The feeling and belief of extreme fear and worry is what brings a panic attack on. It is important to know what a panic attack is as for many they can go undiagnosed for years and create a vacuous downward spiral of anxiety that can spread into every aspect of life leaving millions with an unrealistic fear of the things they encounter in everyday life.

If you are a sufferer of panic attacks there is one major way to overcome them and that is to understand them; read everything you can and take in the information and advice as knowledge is power and the more knowledge you can feed the conscious and subconscious mind the more control you will have over you anxiety. A panic attack can vary amongst individuals but the more commonly known attack is one that will occur suddenly and then subside for hours, days, weeks or months depending on the severity of anxiety in a person. A panic attack can be extremely scary and intense which ironically increases fear and hence occurrence as the threat of the panic attack itself can heighten emotions and the onset of an attack can be brought on.

The sensation of a panic attack can be first misconstrued as a heart attack, nervous break down or dying in some way. But for most, panic attacks consists of shortness of breath, hyperventilation, feeling faint, hot/cold sweats, numbness, chills, palpitations, fatigue and shaking (Although this will slightly vary depending on the person). This reaction can happen to the smallest or the largest fear, but no matter what level it happens at, it is something that can be dealt with.

The reason that panic attacks can be a thing of the past is because of why they occur in the body. A panic attack is caused by a natural reaction; a way the body prepares for danger as adrenalin is released to cope with the thing the mind perceives as ‘dangerous’. When the brain conveys something as fearful it will release adrenalin, this adrenalin makes the heart beat faster to prepare the body for something bad to happen, this is known as the ‘fight or flight’ reaction.

This heightened reaction is a survival instinct that is an amazing thing for the body to do. However, there are times in our life that for some reason provoke this release of adrenalin when in reality we are not at threat or in danger. But, when this happens the brain is programmed to associate the stimuli with a real danger. The problem is this could be anything from walking down the street alone, having a drink in a bar, driving in the car, flying on a plane, dancing, getting your hair cut, speaking in public, staying home alone, eating in public, dating or not having the right thing to wear.

As you can see these circumstances are not a threat, realistically, to any one's life. But, at some point in time, in the past something has happened that has spurred the release of adrenalin that has then made the mind and body perceive something as dangerous. For example, you were sat at school and you accidentally fell off your seat and everybody turned round and laughed at you, this probably triggered an embarrassed feeling where your mind learned that this type of situation is bad as at the time you felt negative towards it. You now may feel this every time you are in a social situation and when you see or hear someone laughing you believe it is directed at you which may at first cause things such as blushing and then increase to excess adrenalin release which causes the infamous panic attack.

Panic attacks can be brought on by the slightest trigger which is why they are so traumatic for every person that suffers from them. It could be a sound or image heard or seen unconsciously that the brain traces back to a time associated directly or even indirectly to something negative, which brings in the onset of a panic attack. It is this cycle that makes anxiety a progressively harming condition and the reason why we all need to combat it as lives can be controlled to such as extent that we develop more and more fears. This is dangerous as we can begin to stay away from everything that we once enjoyed and fear the everyday; rational things that get us through life financially, socially and physically. Life is to be enjoyed but with the hold of fear this is not possible which is why understanding what a panic attack is, is vital to you getting your life back.