Panic Attacks!

When someone experiences their first panic attack they think they are dying. It is not uncommon to end up in emergency room multiple times when panic attacks start. I will never ever forget my first panic attack, or any of them really and I have experienced hundreds.

A panic attack is a stimulation of the body's flight or fight response. The flight or fight response starts in our hypothalamus located in the "don't mess with me" area of the brain. Once the body perceives danger, the flight or fight response kicks in. It's mission is to keep you safe. It tells the blood to go away from the extremities and come to the heart, lungs and large muscles to prepare you for either fighting off an enemy (bear, robber etc..) or to run for your life to safety. 

During this process the hypothalamus releases chemical messengers to other areas of the brain in order to get the sympathetic nervous system all riled up, releasing chemicals and hormones (such as adrenaline) through the blood stream.

With a panic attack there is usually no physical danger present to activate the flight or fight response. This response comes from acute stress, extreme emotions, fear or other mental "attacks". A panic attack can come on just by worrying about having another panic attack, which is a characteristic of panic disorder.

What physically happens when you have a panic attack:

• Hyperventilating, shortness of breath, feeling like you just can't breath deep enough.
• Racing heart, heart palpitations (premature or skipped beats)
• Chest pain, heaviness or discomfort
• Trembling, uncontrolled shaking
• Sweating (sweating palms and feet are very common)
• Feeling dizzy, light-headed or faint
• Nausea, upset stomach
• Tingling or numbness
• Hot flashes or feeling cold
• Feeling out of reality, or a sense of being detached from your body
• Fear of dying, going crazy

As you can see, it's no wonder why we think we are dying, or go for emergency help! I personally have always experienced every single one of these symptoms during all of my panic attacks. You don't just pick a few from the list, you feel it all.

Panic disorder is when you experience multiple panic attacks, constantly fear having another panic attack, and avoid certain situations that make you feel anxious. Panic disorder can occur with or without agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia is a fear to leave your "safe" zones. Maybe you fear being in a car, going to the mall, the grocery store, school, the doctor's office etc... Agoraphobia is extremely debilitating, and hard for others to understand. Slowly the world of an agoraphobic person becomes smaller and smaller without actively pursuing treatment which is hard to do when the fear is so strong. I call agoraphobia the fear of fear itself. We avoid situations that make us feel fear.