Panic attacks can occur for several reasons and usually last for about ten minutes. Your body will react by an increased blood pressure, as well as dizziness and fear overtaking you.
Causes of panic attacks are often the result of some underlying reason and it is therefore important for you to look at those causes. By doing so, you will be able to prevent panic attacks from continuously occurring in the future.
Are Panic Attacks Genetic
Some believe that panic attacks are an inherited trait. It has been shown that there are certain genes that are related to panic attacks occurring. These genes have mutated and caused the brain to not respond properly in certain situations.
However, panic attacks are not most likely to occur because of genetics, but from other situations. These situations are known to be a response either to external happenings or from internal problems that are being compensated for in the body.
Panic attacks may also be because of the body’s response to a certain environment. If there is shallow chest breathing that is happening, then the body will respond by trying to speed up the heart rate. It also causes an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide. As a result, it causes fear and terror to overtake a person.
If shallow chest breathing is not occurring, the brain may be responding anyway. There is a nerve in the brain that responds to feeling a lack of oxygen is occurring in the body. It causes the body to respond by making it feel like it is suffocating. Often times, this brain is triggered in error.
Can Stress Cause Panic Attacks
Severe stress is one of the major factors that is associated behind panic attack symptoms.
If you are coping with a major change in your life, such as loss of a loved one, or a tragedy, then it causes extra stress to be added into your life.
If this becomes difficult for you to handle, the body may try to relieve this stress physically.
Do Phobias Cause Panic Attacks
Anxiety and phobias may also trigger a panic attack to happen.
The most well known phobia that is related to panic attacks is agoraphobia. Literally translated, agoraphobia means “fear of the marketplace” or a fear of having a panic attack in a public place.
An agoraphobic person in this situation, will mentally trigger something in their brain that makes them feel as though they are suffocating or in a situation they cannot get out of. As a result, they will begin to have a panic attack.
Can Flashbacks Cause Panic Attacks
Many times, panic attacks are not defined by a particular event that happens in real time.
Many people that have panic attacks say that they come out of nowhere, and they are uncertain of why. The event does not have to be a present one.
Often times, flashbacks can trigger something from the past that was tragic or stressful. If this certain situation has not been resolved mentally, then it can result in a panic attack.
If you are in a real time traumatic situation, it may also cause a panic attack. Part of the mental responses to panic attacks is that there is a fear of dying that is stimulated in the brain as a result. If you are in a situation where a traumatic event is occurring, it may cause your body to react to this fear that you have.
How to Deal with Panic Attacks
Panic attacks, no matter what the situation, are important to recognize and begin to handle. If you don’t look into the reasoning behind the panic attacks, it may lead to more serious complications.
Panic disorders can start to become a part of your life. This may lead to more phobias and problems that occur on more consistent basis. As a result, it may become harder for you to function normally in your every day life.
Panic attacks have both physical and mental attachments to them.
By understanding what these are and knowing how they affect you, it can help you to overcome them more easily.
For some people, panic attack symptoms occur several times during their life, while for others, a panic attack will occur once and will never happen again.
By understanding what a panic attack is and does, you will be able to make sure that panic attacks become more infrequent or completely absent from your life.