Panic Attack and Stress

Panic attack is manifested with the typical attack syndromes such as a faster heart rate as though you have come from a tiring run, unstoppable trembling, and difficulty in breathing.

These signs also seem to be signs of a heart attack, which is why paranoid individuals would request or even command to be sent to the emergency room right away. In order to calm patients such as these, they would be entered into the ER just for them to stop worrying.

As pointed earlier, there are said to be many factors in the affected person’s life that can trigger the attacks. One definite cause though would be stage fright. Just thinking about how you would be the center of the attention of so many pairs of eyes would make your knees go numb. However, there are also people who are simply gifted with the ability to stand steadily in front of an audience. For the first type of public speakers, panic attacks might really arise. But what would cause these attacks?

According to experts, there are many reasons which can pinpoint to the cause of these panic attacks.

The general reasons are:

1. Imbalance in the individual’s biochemical nature
One reason that answers why panic attack happens is an imbalance in the biochemical make-up of the affected individual. The imbalance is caused by the abnormal increase of activity in the locus coerules and hippocampus.

These two parts of the brain function as the managers of the external and internal stimuli. Another part of the brain that also plays a role in the panic attack is the amygdala. This part holds how humans react which manifest in the emotion being felt by the affected person. In order to cure panic attacks caused by this imbalance, medications are given.

2. Genetic inheritance
With genetic inheritance, if someone in the family tree has had panic attacks, it is likely the reason why one also experiences panic attacks. For instance, the father in the family had a panic attack which appeared to be in the worse state; the son who watched his father struggle and was anxious for his father will also most likely have a panic attack. This is how stress can trigger it.

3. Nurturing factor done for the individual
The most common reason that is pointed out by most people is the nurturing environment of the affected person. There are so many sources of stress around an individual. It could be problems within the family, work, relationship, friendship, or school. Too much worry about these problems will sooner than later trigger an attack.

There are still studies that are continually conducted to get definite answers about stress and panic attacks.