What Happens During A Panic Attack and WHY?!
During a panic attack, you experience at least 4 of the following symptoms. What you may not know is that each of these symptoms serves a biological purpose in helping us to survive in the event of an actual life-threatening situation.
What You FeelWhy It Happens
Difficulty breathing - Breathing switches from slow and relaxed breathing to very rapid breathing in order to increase the amount of oxygen flowing through your body so that you can function better to fight off a threat.
Increased heart rate - Heart rate spikes to increase blood flow and oxygen to your muscles so that you can fight off the predator or run away quickly.
Tightness in the chest - You naturally feel tightness in your chest caused by your faster breathing, quicker heart rate, and tensed torso muscles so that you can be ready to spring into action.
Dizziness - You will naturally begin to feel dizzy as a result of over-breathing and your body’s redirection of blood flow in preparation for the “fight or flight.”
Shaking - Your body can begin to tremble as your muscles become hyper tensed and ready to act.
Sweating - You begin to sweat as your body’s natural way to cool down during a fight or a run. The sweating also plays a part in being able to slip away from predators or allow blows in a fight to slide off you more easily.
Difficulty swallowing or a sensation of choking - Your mouth naturally dries up as your body redirects its energy to other areas that are more important during a survival scenario.
Upset stomach - Your body naturally diverts energy and blood flow away from non-essential areas like digestion that become unimportant when trying to fight off a predator or run away.
Feeling surreal or detached from the present moment - Your mind naturally allows you to detach from frightening or traumatic moments to allow you a “safe distance” from any trauma that might occur so that your emotional experience of fear is lessened and so are your memories of the event.
Numbness and tingling in the hands - As your heart rate increases blood flow and oxygen to your muscles and other parts of the body that are vital for fighting or running away, it decreases blood flow to non-essential parts of the body such as your skin and smaller extremities.
Fluctuating sense of body temperature - As your body experiences all these physiological changes at once, it begins to feel hot. As a result, you begin to sweat as your body’s natural way of trying to regulate your body temperate and cool you down.
Fear of losing control, going crazy, or imminent death - These thoughts occur as your mind naturally searches for an explanation for the threat and physical reactions you’re experiencing
As you can see, it makes sense for your body to have these reactions when there is an actual threat to your safety. The trouble with panic attacks is that these reactions occur even when you are perfectly safe – kind of like a false alarm. With panic attack treatment, you can learn more about why these things happen, how to cope with panic, and how to stop the panic cycle from continuing!
We can help.
If you or someone you love is struggling with panic attacks, please reach out. We offer panic attack treatment with CBT Therapists in Orlando and online throughout the state of Florida. Call today or send us your info and we’ll reach out for a free consultation to see if one of our therapists would be a good fit.
