Causes Of Panic Attacks And How You Can Cope

Have you ever had an unexpected panic attack? Perhaps you experienced the phsyical symptoms of panic disorder or something similar to a panic attack that you thought was one? 

There are a variety of symptoms related to a panic attack (sometimes referred to as an “anxiety attack”). For those who experience them, they can be debilitating or terrifying. They may seem to come on without warning in some cases, and they can affect your quality of life and your mental health.

That's why it can be important to understand these attacks and figure out how to work through them. This article explores what a panic attack is, what panic disorder is, and mental health strategies you can use to cope with unexpected anxiety and panic attacks.

What is a panic attack?

While often associated with a number of anxiety disorders, panic attacks are one of the primary symptoms of panic disorder. People with panic disorder may experience a very abrupt or sudden occurrence of discomfort or even intense fear. Most panic attacks can last several minutes, and it may contain a variety of different symptoms including both mental and physical effects. 

Some individuals have had what's considered a limited-symptom panic attack, which is somewhat similar but can include a smaller number of symptoms in the attack. This type of attack may be easily confused with high levels of anxiety. High-level anxiety can occur with physical sensations like an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach, a racing heartbeat, or trouble breathing, but these feelings may not be as they are in an individual having a panic attack. They also may not be as long lasting because they may come and go or may occur for only a few seconds or a few minutes before abating.

Anything shorter or less intense than this is not considered a full panic attack, but you may still want to speak with your doctor or another medical professional to find out more about what it is and why it could be happening.

Symptoms of panic attacks

There are a large number of symptoms that can go along with panic attacks, which can be made up of any combination of four or more of them. 

Heart palpitations are one of the first symptoms of a panic attack and can feel like a pounding or racing heartbeat. This can be one of the more common symptoms for those with intense anxiety or any form of panic attacks. There may also be feelings of chest pain or another discomfort in the stomach area or a feeling of knots in the stomach and chest. You may even feel nauseous or ill.

Sweating, hot flashes, dizziness and even chills are also symptoms that you may want to watch out for. A tingling sensation or a feeling of losing touch with reality or depersonalization can also be signs of a sudden attack. 

Shortness of breath, lightheadedness, feeling faint, trembling, or shaking can be other serious physical symptoms. Some individuals may even feel like they may come to physical harm or that they’re losing control. It can also feel like shortness of breath will soon make an individual unable to breathe or like they’re having a heart attack, going “crazy,” or even that they’re going to die.

This causes fear of going “crazy”, dying, and losing control. This is sometimes referred to as having a sense of impending doom. Because of this feeling, it's common to mistake a panic attack for another serious illness. Note that doctors recommend going to the hospital if you’re actively experiencing chest pain and have never experienced a panic attack. And if you recently experienced chest pain, it’s recommended that you find a doctor with whom to discuss your symptoms so you can rule out potential phsyical causes. 

An individual who has panic attacks frequently may have a family history of panic disorder or other anxiety disorders or have a history of frequent visits to the emergency room with a variety of different problems, sensations, or even fears. These might include chest pain, including heart disease, heart attacks, breathing problems, thyroid problems, and much more because the symptoms can feel like a range of other disorders.

With any of these symptoms, it can be important to seek out professional help to find out what's going on and work on treatment. It may also be important to know how to tell the difference between a panic attack and a heart attack. Ask your doctor to educate you on this topic to ensure you have accurate information that’s relevant to you, your family history, and your health. For example, biological women may experience different heart attack symptoms than men. And those with a clean bill of health often have less to worry about than those with heart attack risk factors.

If you have never had a panic attack before or are experiencing symptoms different from past panic attacks, it may be necessary to seek emergency medical care. Chest pain may indicate a heart attack, blood clot, or another condition that requires a thorough physical examination. 

What causes panic attacks?

Panic attacks occur when you feel anxious, nervous, stressed, or any number of negative emotions. They may also occur when you are feeling completely calm and relaxed. It's also possible for them to occur in conjunction with other psychological disorders and may be a symptom of attempting to ignore another psychological disorder. For example, when attempting to ignore a compulsion as an OCD symptom, one may experience a panic attack. This is not a necessary component, but it can occur in some individuals.

Making changes to the lifestyle in ways that are not necessarily for self-improvement could be a sign of panic attacks as well. An individual who experiences these attacks may go out of their way to try to change things in their lives so that they won't experience panic attacks again. They may try to guess things that will cause panic attacks or simply cut out activities that may be stressful or too exciting or overwhelming to reduce or eliminate the chances of panic attacks, but unfortunately, this process might not work, and the individual may continue to cut more and more things from their life in the hope of avoiding panic attacks.

Who has panic disorder?

Anyone could have a panic attack at some time or another, whether because of an increase in stress in their lives or because of medical conditions or medications. Research suggests that panic disorder, the condition that often causes panic attacks, can appear later on in a person’s teenage years or during early adulthood. Regardless of whether panic attacks develop in early adulthood or another age, it may be difficult to identify for the individual experiencing the panic disorder. 

The occurrence of panic disorder is also possible amongst just about anyone, though there is a higher risk of developing a panic disorder if one or more individuals in your family have these types of attacks. Otherwise, life-threatening events or other high-stress situations can also cause panic attacks and panic disorder, like graduation, getting a job, having a baby, grief, or other major life events.

Treatment for panic attacks

How to treat panic attacks? Understanding the different ways panic disorder is treated may help you return to a calm state if you are currently experiencing a panic attack. 

When a panic attack occurs, it may be helpful to seek medical help. This medical help may be in the form of a primary care or family physician. It's possible that they will initially look for a source relating to a different medical condition. They might look at any physical conditions you could already have, as well as any other symptoms to rule out other diagnoses. 

It is possible that the panic attacks you are experiencing could be related to a different medical disorder or even to a type of medication that you are taking. Some medical disorders can cause more panic attacks to occur; ruling these out first could be important before you start any treatment plan for the panic attacks themselves.

Once you’ve talked with your doctor and ruled out physical- or medication-related causes of the disorder, it may be time to start looking at some other options for treatment. This may include learning relaxation techniques, deep breathing exercises, grounding methods, or therapy.

Therapy can be a great step to help you work through the problems that you may be facing and start working on how to treat and even prevent panic attacks. This process may include finding a therapist or psychiatrist who you feel comfortable with and who can help you overcome panic attack symptoms and the fear associated with them.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be one of the best treatment methods for panic disorder because it can help change thought patterns that you may have related to the disorder. This type of therapy can help you understand things that trigger panic attacks or things that cause them to be worse in intensity. Cognitive behavioral therapy may also be able to help you figure out more realistic ways to look at a particular situation, whether it be something that happens every day or a traumatic event. By thinking carefully about what you are afraid of and what the reality is, you may be able to work through the fears.

If you are experiencing trauma, support is available. Please see our Get Help Now page for more resources.

Exposure therapy, during which you are safely introduced to some of the events that can cause panic attacks, has also proven to be a positive method for many individuals suffering from this disorder. You may be asked to mimic some of the actions related to a panic attack and then taught different ways to cope with anxieties and feelings of helplessness instead. This can help you overcome the constant fear of the panic attack itself, rather than just the actions that cause the panic attack. Many people who experience panic attacks are not only afraid of the situation, but the panic attack itself, so this form of treatment can help.

People with panic disorder diagnosed by a medical professional may recieve a prescription for serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) to treat panic attacks, anxiety disorder, and many mental health conditions that may cause panic attacks to occur. Such medications are used when treating anxiety and helping those who develop panic disorder. 

BetterHelp can help with unexpected panic attacks

If you're looking for a professional, it can be limited to only looking for people who are physically nearby. You may want to take a look at psychiatrists available online. BetterHelp is a great way to connect with a range of different talk therapy specialists, and you can do it from anywhere in the country. You can connect with specialists who can help you overcome fears using cognitive behavioral therapy. 

You can simply log on to the website and connect with someone you feel comfortable with, no matter where their physical office is. Plus, you get to conduct your therapy session wherever you're comfortable, whether that's at home, away on business, or anywhere else.

Clinical studies have shown that online cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in treating panic disorders, anxiety disorders, and specific phobias. A review of 17 studies even found that online therapy can be more effective than in-person therapy. This may be in part because it can be easier to attend sessions online as opposed to in-person, especially for those who are homebound, physically disabled, or live in remote areas.