What causes panic attacks
Do you suffer from occasional panic attacks and wonder what causes panic attacks in the first place?
Panic attacks can be debilitating mentally and emotionally, but unfortunately, there is no one single cause for these terrifying attacks. In one word, panic attacks are nothing but our body over-reacting to fear.
Why does it do it? What causes panic attacks?
Many people get panic attacks because of fear; fear of something, or some specific situation. If you follow through the experiences posted by people on this site and elsewhere, you will find that the situation which causes these intense panic attacks could almost be anything, and varies widely from person to person.
For instance, some people are scared of people yelling, others of crowded places, while yet others are afraid of choking over food and consequently become afraid to eat (imagine what daily life would be for these people). Many get panicky about their health, and a mild chest pain is sufficient to trigger their anxiety.
Sometimes it’s a specific traumatic event, like the death of a loved one, that puts people on the edge, and those memories could cause panic attacks. And for many others, it’s the fear of going out socially or of speaking in public. Fear of driving or fear of flying are very common causes of panic attacks as well.
How do most people deal with such situational panic attacks? By trying to remove or distance themselves from that situation. A very natural reaction, and good enough for the short-term, but certainly not the best from a long-term perspective.
Why?
Because such a fear will prevent you from leading your full, normal life.
Additionally, many people also experience panic attacks quite unexpectedly – which generally means, they are unable to identify a specific trigger that caused these attacks. Since there is nothing specific to identify in this case, what do these people fear the most? The arrival of another “unexpected” panic attack.
It’s only a matter of time before this fear of panic attack becomes so intense that it causes a panic attack by itself, thereby creating what’s called the “panic loop”.
If you experience panic attacks that you could not relate to any specific trigger, and are left wondering what causes panic attacks, then what is the best way for you to deal with it? Certainly not taking, and eventually getting habituated to large doses of symptomatic medications.
Unless you have a specific disorder requiring medications as suggested by your doctor, medication is usually not necessary for most panic attacks. Too much will make you dependent on it, and will not let you develop the coping skills that will help you in the long run.
You may take few medicines initially, on the advice of your doctor, to get your emotions back in control; but you will do well to plan for a long-term strategy of figuring out what causes panic attacks in your case, and dealing with those fears using cognitive and behavioral techniques.
Here’s one technique that uses self hypnosis audios, which you can put into practice by yourself without needing anyone’s help.
