Panic Attack? No Worries: Here’s What It Is and How You Can Beat It
– By TAD LUSK, LPC
If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack before, you know how debilitating it can be. But what you might not realize is how common and treatable it actually is.
If you’re unsure whether you’ve experienced panic before, here are some of the most common symptoms:
– Racing thoughts
– Racing heart
– Difficulty breathing
– Sweating
– Shaking
– Muscle tension
– Chest pain
– Tunnel vision
– Dizziness
– Feeling “out of control”
– Thinking you’re going to die
– A feeling of being “disconnected” from yourself or your reality
Obviously, the effects of a panic attack can be overwhelming, frightening, and upsetting.
I have good news too: Panic is very treatable. In fact, with effective treatment (more info below), most people go on to live completely normal, healthy, happy lives and become free of panic attacks altogether.
First, let’s take a look at what panic is, so you know what you’re dealing with.
What Is Panic?
In the most basic sense, a panic attack is an exaggerated fear response. That is, your brain & body’s natural survival instinct kicks in, but in situations in which that survival response is not actually needed.
All humans have a natural evolutionary response to danger, called “fight or flight” (or sometimes called “fight, flight or freeze”). When the part of your brain called the limbic system registers something as a threat, it can temporarily take over in order to prepare the body to flee, fight or shut down to survive the threat.
Adrenaline, cortisol and other hormones are secreted that cue the body to kick into overdrive, and briefly shut down the logical thinking part of the brain to allow for quicker reaction, increased strength, and speed.
