The Panic Attack and Anxiety Disorder
The Panic Attack and Anxiety Disorder
The panic attack and anxiety disorder are related in the same way as are the sore throat and the common cold: the first is a symptom of the latter. There are several reasons, however, why one may experience a panic attack. Disorders of the thyroid, the heart and other causes may be the root and one must consult with a doctor rather than simply dismissing these episodes as an anxiety symptom. Once one knows for certain that anxiety is the root of their issues, however, understanding the panic will help to understand the rest of the disorder.
Of all the other symptoms associated with it, the panic attack is the anxiety disorder symptom that is the most distressing, in the majority of cases. However, what many individuals don’t realize is that the panic attack really does have value, in the right circumstances. The roots of the panic attack are found in the less-civilized lives of our ancestors when the ability of the body to instantly raise the heart rate, the respiration rate and to demand a razor-sharp focus of the consciousness oftentimes meant the difference between life and death. Consider the value of this reflex.
A panic attack from a anxiety disorder is defined by its uselessness. However, if one were in the forest and a grizzly bear suddenly took enough of an interest to give pursuit, the reality of there being such a thing as a constructive panic attack becomes apparent. The increased heart rate and breathing mean more oxygen, and thus strength and endurance, to the muscles. The focus one experiences means the ability to concentrate all of one’s efforts on survival. The panic attack, in reality, is our primitive brain at its run-or-be-run-down, kill-or-be-killed finest. In everyday life, however, it’s a bit much and therein lays the problem.
When a panic attack and other anxiety disorder symptoms manifest, they’re often so distressing because there is simply no way to burn off the energy they produce. One cannot begin running through the halls of their bank because having their loan approved caused in them a very real panic! From this unfortunate situation come the most frequent symptoms of the panic attack: sweating, shaking, racing thoughts, hyperventilation and the fear of dying. It all makes sense when one thinks of its origins. A panic attack is not a disease; it’s an inappropriate reaction.
Once the panic attack and other anxiety disorder symptoms are understood for what they are, they’re often much more easy to control. They become a nuisance after a while—“There I go again!”—rather than an occasion to be in very real fear for one’s life. The first step in overcoming this disorder and having it dominate one’s life is simple understanding of the origins. The anxiety causes a reaction that fuels itself and gradually tips toward panic. This may happen over and over again as one learns how to control it but the fear will oftentimes dissipate with better understanding.
