Causes of Panic Attacks

A panic attack is often defined as a sudden onset of intense anxiety and normally characterized by feelings of intense fear and apprehension. Although the causes of panic attacks are still not really understood, several things can play a role which can include a combination of biological and environmental factors.

Panic Attacks are more often than not accompanied by one of the following:

heart palpitations,
shortness of breath,
sweating,
trembling plus several other symptoms.

Doctors and experts alike have investigated genetics as being a possible cause for panic attacks in some people. In the same way that other ailments or problems such as genetic heart disease can be passed down by one or both parents, a panic disorder has also been proved to run in families. It could be that a person is predisposed to having these attacks. It has been shown that some panic attack sufferers have had a family member has had or has panic attacks or some other emotional problem such as depression.

There are other possible biological causes for panic attacks which could be associated with small abnormalities in the brain. As such a panic disorder can be the result of specific changes in the way that areas of the brain function. In recent studies it has been shown that panic attacks can often coexist with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia or post traumatic stress disorder. It may even be possible that psychotic symptoms could lead to panic attacks.

Research suggests that a person may get psychotic episodes in advance of, or that these may even predict the onset of specific anxiety disorders as well, like for example post traumatic stress disorder. It is also now well documented that the body’s natural “fight-or-flight” response to danger is involved in panic attacks. The body’s natural alarm and response system is a set of mental and physical mechanisms that allows a person to respond to a threat such as an intruder breaking into their home. These physiological mechanisms date back to the times when man had to fight and hunt for food and even though man has evolved over thousands of years, these basic instincts or mechanisms have not changed and are hard wired into our core make-up. Any car driver who has experienced the red and blue flashing lights from a police car in the rear view mirror have most likely felt the instantaneous fight or flight mechanism kick in, when adrenalin is pumped into the heart which causes the heart to beat faster and breathing increase rapidly.

Here is where the problem lies you see because, in the onset of a panic attack, these same physiological feelings are triggered unnecessarily when there is no danger. Unfortunately scientists are still unsure why a panic attack occurs when there’s no obvious danger present. In normal circumstances this instantaneous and involuntary response prepares us to face our foe and fight or run away or hide up the nearest tree, hence the term “fight or flight” which as stated previously predates our most recent ancestors. The purpose behind adrenalin being pumped into the heart is to increase the blood flow around the body so that muscles can work at their optimum to help us either fight or flee. However adrenalin is not needed when a person is not in these situations and this is one of the main issues for individuals that suffer a panic attack. In a calm or resting state, adrenalin takes time to be absorbed in the body if it is not used up in the process of “fight or flight” and is the primary reason why it takes some time to become relaxed again following an attack.

It is thought however that major stress or stresses in our life in some cases may be a cause of panic attacks as well. Stress may come in the form of a stressful event or a major life transition like the death or separation of a loved one. The trouble is that in the 21^st Century most of the western world is seeing a vast increase in the levels of stressed induced or related sickness, brought on by our work environment and social lives in the main. Some specialists have discovered that in cases when these stresses lower your natural resistance, the underlying physical sensitivities kick in and may trigger an attack.

An example of an environmental cause of a panic attack could be seen as an addiction. The physiological and physiological effects of intoxication or with the withdrawal of drugs or alcohol due to alcohol or drug abuse could also possibly contribute to a panic disorder in an individual person as well. Biological and environmental causes of a panic disorder have been thought to possibly work together. Typically, panic attacks come out of the blue. However, ultimately the panic attack sufferer might bring them on themselves, by responding to physical symptoms associated with an attack. For example, if someone that suffers from a panic disorder experiences a racing heartbeat caused by an event or situation like taking a certain medication, then they might interpret this as a symptom of an attack. In turn they may inadvertently bring on an attack because of an increase in their anxiety since a lot of the fear associated with an attack is fear of having another panic attack. Since the exact cause of panic attacks and panic disorders are not fully understood, it is important to seek treatment through several different forms of therapy.

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