What Is a Panic Attack? An Explanation for Heightened Anxiety and How to Respond to It

The feeling of panic is not hard to miss. The body may begin to sweat, the mouth may become dry, and the heart may beat much faster than moments before. Eyes may widen and hands may shake as the body’s natural alarm system screams to avoid a perceived danger. 

The body’s biological panic system is designed to be helpful. Passed down in our ancestral evolution, fight, flight, or freeze may impact a person’s ability to cope — bringing distracting, sudden, and uncomfortable symptoms. 

Let’s be honest…in the midst of a panic attack, it’s difficult to feel gratitude for the protective function. Instead, you may find yourself very literally itching to avoid the discomfort and begging to retreat somewhere safe — or you may feel so overwhelmed that fleeing for safety isn’t a possibility. Though an explanation for what’s really happening may not fix the panic symptoms, it can encourage conscious awareness that the symptoms will not last forever — and are not putting you in any further harm. 

A panic attack is described as “a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause,” according to Mayo Clinic. They may appear independent of other symptoms or may be part of a larger disorder. Though fear that induces a panic attack is typically related to falsely perceived danger, a number of things are happening in the body that make the danger feel real. 

One main consideration is how our brains have learned to perceive the world around us. In Don’t Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks, Reid Wilson Ph. D. writes, “After the panic response is established, the mind stops working creatively in your favor.” He explains that despite our ability to logically assume real versus imagined danger, “The mind focuses on the problem instead of the solution,” acting on “auto-pilot” as biologically programmed. Anything that reminds us of a previous moment of panic will automatically spark anxiety symptoms — and that’s where the problem begins. 

Panic attacks don’t “come out of the blue” even though that is often the perception. Panic attacks occur when the brain responds with fear to an anxiety symptom, a process also called “anxiety sensitivity.” While anxiety is a normal response to life stressors, individuals with panic disorder perceive the physical sensations caused by anxiety to be a threat and often expect the sensations to result in losing control or going crazy, having a heart attack, or fainting. People often confuse a trigger like location or environment to be the cause of panic attacks— like having panic every time they step onto an airplane. Research tells us the plane is not the trigger of panic. Rather, the problem lies in the fear of anxiety and discomfort, loss of control, or extreme fear related to it. 

The goal of treatment for panic disorder is to help a person view anxiety sensations as normal, natural, and harmless (this is not to say the experience isn’t extremely uncomfortable or distressing). Relating to anxiety in this way will prevent the secondary anxiety response that is a panic attack. Instead of applying coping skills to ease panic in the moment, structured therapy can, over time, eliminate fear responses to anxiety symptoms. Eventually, the biological system that causes panic will respond with confidence that a symptom of anxiety does not translate to a life-threatening danger. 

Coping skills may be more effective when a person has a greater understanding of their level of safety as related to anxiety symptoms. Deep breathing, through sending a signal to the brain that there is no threat, can calm blood pressure and heart rate when applied during moments of anxiety. However, it’s important to remember that a panic attack is a momentary state, typically lasting just a few minutes, and will subside on its own.  

If anxiety and panic are interfering with daily comfort and living the life that you want, Chicago Center for Behavioral Health can help. Click here for more information on therapy services.