Panic Attacks - Part 2
In my last post I gave a description of what a person may experience when having a panic attack.
In this post, I thought of going further on this topic and to discuss the reasons as to why our body reacts like this when we are having a panic attack.
There are mainly two reasons as to why our body may be forced to react like this with these symptoms.
The first may be due to the use or withdrawl from certain medications or drugs, asthma, thyroid problems and other conditions which can cause symptoms similar to a panic attack.
The second may be due to excessive fear, stress or anxiety issues. During a panic attack the body is in the fight or flight mode. This is a psychological reaction that prepares the body to either fight the threat or flee the scene. Hence, we experience all the symptoms that were discussed in my last post.
Our body, our mind and our emotions work very well together. In fact, they are the best team players we will ever meet!
When we experience a lot of fear (discussed in an earlier post), due to what our mind tells our emotions about our own perception of a given situation, our body believes our mind and the emotions that are created as a result of it, and thinks it is an emergency!
Let me give you an example. Ann has an exam to take. Her mind begins to perceive that exam as a huge challenge. Her emotions receive this perception from her mind and begins to create the feeling of great fear. With every passing day this feeling of fear gets more intense. At this point she experiences a good amount of stress that it makes it very difficult for her to focus on her preparation for the exam. Every time she tries to get to her books, she feeds her mind with the perception that this is an impossible challenge to even attempt. This perception continues to feed her emotions with even greater feelings of fear, which then in turn increases her stress level. As this vicious cycle continues, at some given point, the body thinks it is an emergency and in order to protect Ann, it reacts with a fight or flight mode with the symptoms that are very similar to a heart attack. To Ann, this may seem like an attack just out of the blues, but as we can see, it is something that had been building up within her over a period of time.
Now on the contrary, let's say Ann believed that, yes, this exam is a difficult one to clear but with some extra effort on my part and with the help from my peers I can clear this.
Then her emotions would have been feelings of moderate fear. The stress from it would have then been just enough to make her body to support her well through her preparation period.
As a result she would have been able to work hard enough and to get the necessary help she needed from her peers, and would have confidently ended up clearing her exam.
What fears are currently overwheming you?
How can you reframe them in your mind so that they don't overwhelm your body to react in a panic attack?
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