Recently I came across an article on my newsfeed about panic attacks and I thought it was a subject worth exploring with you. This is very personal for me because I started having panic attacks when I was 14 and spent most of my life dealing with them. Perhaps you or someone you know can relate to this. It can be such a debilitating condition!
According to the Mayo Clinic, “A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. Panic attacks can be very frightening. When panic attacks occur, you might think you’re losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.”
According to the Cleveland clinic, “A panic attack causes sudden, temporary feelings of fear and strong physical reactions in response to ordinary, nonthreatening situations. When you’re having a panic attack, you may sweat a lot, have difficulty breathing and feel like your heart’s racing. It may feel like you’re having a heart attack.” They state that a panic attack is different from an anxiety attack because “an anxiety attack is less intense and lasts longer than a panic attack.” Panic attacks can last anywhere from five minutes to several hours.
Some of the feelings associated with a panic attack include intense terror, the sensation of choking, a fear of losing control or that you’re going to die, the derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (feeling detached from yourself).
They go on to say that “Many people have just one or two panic attacks in their lifetimes, and the problem goes away, perhaps when a stressful situation ends. But if you’ve had recurrent, unexpected panic attacks and spent long periods in constant fear of another attack, you may have a condition called panic disorder.”
The Cleveland clinic says that up to 11% of people in the United States experience a panic attack every year.
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of the best-selling book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, And Body in the Healing of Trauma states that traumatized people chronically feel unsafe in their bodies. “It is as if the past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signals, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and a numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves. The more people try to push away and ignore internal warning signs, the more likely they are to take over and leave them bewildered, confused and ashamed. People who cannot comfortably notice what is going on inside become vulnerable to respond to any sensory shift either by shutting down or by going into a panic-they develop a fear of fear itself.”
“We now know that panic symptoms are maintained largely because the individual develops a fear of the bodily sensations associated with panic attacks. The attack may be triggered by something he or she knows is irrational, but fear of the sensations keeps them escalating into a full-body emergency. ‘Scared stiff’ and ‘frozen in fear’ describe precisely what terror and trauma feel like. They are its visceral foundation.”
Louis Cozolino, in The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain, states that, “Panic attacks result from triggering of the autonomic nervous system by the amygdala in the absence of an apparent external danger. Victims of panic attacks have increased neural activity in the amygdala. The experience of panic attacks is so powerful that sufferers often go to emergency rooms, certain that they must be dying of a heart attack. Physiologically, victims report a sense of impending doom, feelings of unreality, and a fear of going crazy. Panic attacks are often precipitated by stress or other conflicts in the sufferer’s life, that he or she seldom makes a connection between these events and the panic attacks.
As you can see, experts on trauma concur with the explanations of what is going on in the brain and in the mind during a panic attack and why panic attacks occur in the first place.
What has helped me over the years and what I have shared with others as I have learned more about the impact of trauma on the brain is how fear responses cause the release of several major neurochemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol. Because there is no clear outward reason for the fear response you are experiencing, the fear can become more intense because the sensations tell you that something is terribly wrong and yet you have no evidence of what that is.
Here are some suggestions if you experience panic attack:
- Knowing that your body and brain are trying to protect you from an unknown danger can be very helpful.
- You can learn to say to yourself that this is happening because I was just triggered by something sensory related to a previous trauma.
- You can remind yourself that you might not even realize that you were just triggered because the cascade of reactions can happen in as little as 1/12 of a second when your amygdala, your brain’s unconscious fear center, is activated, according to Louis Cozolino in The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy.
- You can learn to tell yourself that you are safe but have to deal with those neurochemicals until they gradually dissipate. This can give you a sense of calmness and acceptance that helps bring the panic attack down faster.
- Sipping cold water and/or doing something very active like running or just even shaking your body can help to release some of the intense energy your panic attack has created. (For more about this process called Somatic Experiencing, check out Peter Levine’s website.
The article I described at the beginning of this blog talked about how an Australian meteorologist had a panic attack during a live weather report on August 15, 2024. He was able to pause and say that he had to stop and went on to share with his audience that he frequently experienced panic attacks but this was the first time it had ever happened when he was on air.He thought that his career was over because of what – to him – was an embarrassing moment. He was surprised at how many people responded on social media with compassion, appreciating his transparency, and many shared their own personal experiences with panic. He was able to go on with the profession he loved because of the freedom that came from his transparency and the kindness of those around him.
As frightening as panic attacks can be to the point of being paralyzing, it is important to appreciate that they are not your fault. Learning about the science behind them can be very helpful. Realizing you do not have to be embarrassed is important because most people are very compassionate and understanding when you tell them that you suffer from panic attacks. You may learn that many of them have also experienced them too.
All this information is not only what the research says but I can tell you it’s true from my own personal experience.
Invitation for Reflection
- Notice your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories that you had as you read this blog.
- If you do experience panic attacks, think about the degrees to which you experienced significant trauma as a child and how these could contribute to your panic attacks.
- How might this information help you respond to family and friends who might have experienced panic attacks? What specifically do you want them to know?
- What are some of your conclusions about panic attacks?
Diane Wagenhals, Director Emeritus, Lakeside Global Institute