A panic attack is an event in which the physical body enters such a heightened state and the person becomes psychologically overwhelmed by the experience. Commonly the physical experience is sufficiently intense that they feel in danger of a fatal medical event.
At first panic attacks tend to be triggered by external stimuli, such as an encounter with a phobic trigger, a trauma, or news of a bereavement. But it could be triggered by something almost imperceptible if the person has been in a heightened state of tension for a long time. Typically a panic attack is the pinnacle of an ever more rapidly escalating series of tensions.
The development of a panic attack
There are a number of common elements to the development of panic. Not all may be present in an individuals experience of panic, but several usually will;
1. Long term buildup
The person who has a panic attack has usually been in an elevated psychological and/or physical state for some time. This could be as simple as they have been working hard, or they have not been processing their emotions as they go through life, or any force which allows stress to build.
2. Trigger
Something causes them to experience a strong physical reaction. This could be;
- An emotion; fear, anger, or loss, whatever it is it will initiate the release of the hormone adrenalin.
- A stimulant such as caffeine, nicotine or pseudoephedrine, as well as the illegal stimulants, all of which simulate adrenaline release to some degree.
- An attack on the body from a virus or allergen.
As a result they experience;
- Increase heart rate,
- Blood pressure,
- Elevated respiration,
- Elevated body temperature.
- and the muscles and brain may become flood oxygen.
3. Escalation into a panic attack
The person notices the heightened state of their body and begins to worry, typically because it is more elevated than they think it should be. A typical first panic attack follows this trajectory:
- Worry releases adrenaline, which maintains or increases the heighten state.
- This in turn keeps the person worried, as their body is not returning to normal.
- This results in the release of more adrenaline, which maintains the fear, releasing more adrenalin, and so it goes.
- Eventually the fear of what is going on in their body results in them consulting health care services, who identify it as a panic attack, and thus reassured most people calm down.
At the end of this most people are calm. However, this does not mean for everyone that everything is fine, often there will be a lingering concern that something is wrong, which is one of the main reasons that panic disorders develop.
Thinking about therapy for panic?
The author – Dr Matt Krouwel PhD is a hypnotherapist based in Birmingham (UK) with over 25 years experience. He is a member of both the NCH and BSCH
