Betrayal of the body: When the body "goes crazy." Dealing with severe panic attacks

Panic attacks are present in 6-8% of people suffering from neuroses . This disorder belongs to the group of psychosomatic diseases.

That is, both the psyche and human physiology are involved in the manifestation of panic attacks. Below we will look at why panic attacks, and how to overcome them.

Knowing the causes of a panic attack helps you overcome it quickly

It is difficult for an ordinary person to understand why panic attacks and fear occur, as well as their condition during such an attack.

To determine why a person experiences this condition, it is important to know how panic manifests itself physiologically and what the patient experiences during this period.

So, panic attacks are sudden condition fear, panic, anxiety that cannot be controlled, suppressed or independently cured. It occurs without previous symptoms, does not last long, but is intense. Attack even at this a short time(5-15 minutes on average) significantly exhausts a person, affects his behavior, the functioning of cognitive processes and well-being.

Since not everyone is susceptible to attacks, and those who have them note the frequency of such manifestations, the condition is defined as a disease and included in ICD-10 (F41.0).

From the physiological side, this state is sudden powerful surge of adrenaline into the blood , which provokes the sympathetic nervous system.

And until the parasympathetic nervous system begins to act, the person feels an increase in anxiety. These two mechanisms of vegetative nervous system begin to act from the “feed” of the brain.

The main organ in a collision with threatening danger gives signals to activate the NS.

In essence, a panic attack is a defense for our body. But when it occurs frequently, it prevents a person from functioning fully.

Causes of panic attacks and fear

What causes panic attacks?

There are several reasons for this condition, they are almost always psychogenic . They even exact reasons It’s difficult to name; rather, these are events or changes in a person’s life that lead to similar psychosomatic manifestations.

Frequent quarrels between parents contribute to the development of a child's tendency towards PA

The factors predisposing to its occurrence are well known.

So, what causes panic attacks?

High probability of occurrence of the phenomenon with genetic predisposition . If relatives had mental pathologies, a person can feel sudden attacks fear and anxiety.
With improper upbringing childhood : too high demands from parents, inconsistency in demands, criticism of actions.
Adverse emotional conditions in childhood : frequent quarrels between parents and children, alcoholism and other addictions in the family.
Features of temperament and functioning of the nervous system , people with melancholic and choleric types of temperament are susceptible to panic attacks.
Characteristics of a person (getting stuck on experiences, impressionability, suspiciousness and others).
Strong stress factor , it can be both positive and negative, but for the NS it is a shock.
Long-term somatic disorders , diseases, surgical interventions, transferred infectious diseases with complications or severe course.
For neurasthenia a person may also be overcome by attacks of anxiety, fear, and restlessness.

In addition to the factors listed above, there are a number of other physiological reasons Why do panic attacks happen? Sometimes panic attacks fear and anxiety accompany such diseases, like prolapse mitral valve, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism. In some cases, taking certain medical supplies leads to symptoms of panic attacks.

Why else do panic attacks happen?

They appear when the central nervous system is stimulated by caffeine and chemical stimulants.
It is also a concomitant phenomenon with depression.

Manifestation of panic attacks

Episodes of attacks cannot be predicted; they are spontaneous.

Objectively, they are not preceded by a real threat to human health or life . But the brain “turns on” the body’s defense reaction.

Panic state - a kind of defensive reaction body

You can recognize it by the following symptoms:

strong (deep) or frequent heart sounds;
the person sweats;
there is trembling or tremor in the limbs;
dryness occurs in the mouth;
attacks are accompanied by difficulty breathing;
often a person feels either suffocation or a “lump” in the mouth;
sometimes pain may begin in the chest area;
a state of nausea or burning in the stomach, not provoked by food intake;
dizziness, lightheadedness;
disorientation;
the feeling that the surrounding objects are not real, unreal;
a feeling of one’s own “separation”, when a person feels his own self somewhere nearby;
fear of death, going crazy or losing control over what is happening;
with increasing anxiety, a person feels a surge of warmth in the body or chills;
insomnia, as a result, decreased thinking functions;
There is also a feeling of numbness or tingling in the limbs.

It’s good to know what causes panic attacks, but what to do with such a psychosomatic illness?

After all, an attack can overwhelm a person at the most inopportune moment; what actions should be taken to reduce the duration and number of its manifestations?

Principles of treatment for spontaneous attacks of anxiety and fear

At acute attacks panic treatment for this condition is to use pharmacological agents and accompanying psychotherapy.

Medicines for treatment prescribed by the doctor.

He prescribes the regimen for taking the drugs and the form of their release.

The patient can be given drugs through IVs, it is also possible oral administration medicines.

In the latter case, improvement occurs much later (after about a month).

To stabilize the condition after an attack of spontaneous panic and anxiety, psychotherapists prescribe drugs that improve metabolism in the brain, increase the level of serotonin in the blood, and restore the balance between inhibition and excitation of the central nervous system.

Regular communication with a psychotherapist can help in treating the disease.

Main therapeutic effect in removing the causes of panic attacks has psychotherapy . In a conversation with a psychologist (psychotherapist), the patient becomes aware of the reasons for such psychosomatic manifestations. Understands how to behave during an attack of fear and anxiety, learns to overcome them.

There are several areas of psychotherapy that help a person get rid of this syndrome.

All of them are aimed at identifying the causes of the disease and teaching a person how to behave during such a phenomenon.

Classic hypnosis (directive attitude towards getting rid of somatic manifestations).
Ericksonian hypnosis (training to reduce the level of anxiety, fear).
Body-oriented therapy (techniques are used to reduce anxiety levels, breathing work).
Family psychotherapy (family relationships are assessed, work with all family members to improve relationships).
Psychoanalysis (working with unconscious conflicts and childhood, not always effective method in dealing with panic attacks).
Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (most effective in treating this disorder, there is a gradual change in a person’s thinking, working with the causes of fear).

Panic attacks make a person unstable and require treatment

Panic attacks cause a lot of inconvenience to a person.

A psychotherapist will help you determine what causes panic attacks.

You should not delay visiting him if you have the symptoms described above.

Many who have experienced real panic consider this moment the most difficult and unpleasant in their lives. A person in such a state experiences a range of feelings: from simple hopelessness to real despair.

Documented evidence shows that panic in most cases can last from 5 to 10 minutes. Sometimes the process may take longer. To bring unfit people out of such a state, it is necessary external influence and medical assistance.

Real cases

Those who suffered it terrible event they say that suddenly the soul is seized with fear, which literally paralyzes and does not allow it to move. There is strong anxiety and a feeling of an approaching catastrophe. The body secretes sticky sweat, and the head is dizzy. The only desire remains: to quickly escape from this vicious place and leave it quickly.

Some people may experience these bouts of despair on a daily basis, which negatively impacts their lifestyle. Many people seek help from specialists and are diagnosed with panic attacks.

Reasons for panic

For a panic attack to occur, there need to be significant reasons. Most often, a person experiences significant psychological stress caused by high responsibility or misconduct. But panic can suddenly strike absolutely anyone, and the possibility of its occurrence increases after suffering complex injuries.

Many scientists and doctors have studied practical research in this area. For example, Dr. Phil Berker linked the occurrence of a panic attack with the frequency of use alcoholic drinks. About 63% of his patients suffering from such syndromes regularly drank alcohol in varying quantities. However, you should not think that there is a direct connection. It’s just that after drinking alcohol, the human body becomes more vulnerable to various psychological stresses.

Berker believes that the reasons may be purely domestic in nature. For example, cheating on the woman he loves can lead a man to the bottle, and then to panic attacks after sobering up.

Natural predisposition to the disease

Renowned Professor Junschild, researching human body and brain function, argues that mental disorder is a consequence of an imbalance in the chemical balance in the body and especially the limbic system. It is this part of the brain that is responsible for emotional condition person. Psychological stress triggers a natural defense mechanism. The person is offered a choice: immediate flight or entry into confrontation. The cerebellar tonsils are responsible for switching modes. They are the reason for the manifestation of signs of a psychic attack in the absence the right decision. If the trigger in the head clearly moves into one position, then panic does not arise. Man acts on instinct to survive.

The professor attributes this reaction to stimuli to relict reactions left to us from our ancestors. At a time when there were no cities, roads or cars, the inhabitants of the caves had to fight on equal terms with large predators and your neighbors. Only the strongest and fittest warriors and hunters survived. Thus, nature has created a population of men with increased secretion galanin, responsible for stress resistance. Females such protection was not needed, which is why they are more likely to experience panic attacks today.

Lack of galanin causes inhibition of the cerebellar tonsils, which leads to the sensation strong fear and a premonition of his own death. Statistical data confirms the professor’s conclusion: women more often turn to specialists for panic attacks than the stronger sex.

Why breathe deeper?

Many people know the expression “breathe deeply,” which can sometimes be heard from specialists and doctors. However, not everyone understands that similar procedure can really help in overcoming panic. During this reaction, the body's breathing rhythm is disrupted and the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood increases sharply. The body begins to work intermittently. To return the blood to normal condition, it is necessary to sharply increase the flow of oxygen. This can be helped deep breathing. As a result, the chemical balance in the limbic system is restored, and the panic goes away.

Age predisposition

American psychiatrists compared the occurrence of punks in different age categories and concluded that 40% of patients seeking help first experienced signs of panic before the age of 20 years. The symptoms that appear in children are similar to those found in adults, only the level of fear is more pronounced. acute form. Mental disorder affects more heavily general condition organism and often causes aggression towards others.

How to treat panic?

The most top scores bring combined methods treatment. These include psychological therapy and reception special medicines. Much depends on the patient himself. To quickly overcome the crisis, you need to strictly adhere to the recommendations of experts, for example, do physical exercise or call the support team directly. Relying on medications alone is not a panacea for the disease and can only help for a short time.

The world is restless. Every day there are incidents that cause different negative reactions in the psyche of impressionable people. Psychologists all over the world are faced with problems that are difficult to explain logically. One of these phenomena is panic. Concept and definition this phenomenon was developed on the basis of an ancient ancient legend about the God of shepherds named Pan, whose voice was so loud that it could instantly scare away a flock of sheep, causing them to become insanely afraid and thereby putting them to flight.

Panic - what is it? Causes

However, what is panic in the modern sense of the word? Perhaps the most simple definition there will be fear, and in an actively manifested form. The causes of panic are usually of two types.

These are real, when there is a real threat before your eyes. There are also supposed ones, when the cause of fear is some kind of own speculation. Panic for a person is severe stress. As a result, changes occur in the body. They can be of different directions. For example, some basic skills that seem ordinary and impossible to forget under normal circumstances may be blocked in the mind. But it also happens, on the contrary, that due to strong excessive fear, incredible strength and speed awaken in a person. There are known cases when, in a fit of panic, fragile girls moved huge cars. Or when people jumped from the third floor of a building and at the same time remained safe and sound.

Kinds

Speaking about what panic is, we should first of all clarify that it comes in two types - personal and collective. Personal occurs due to dangers that threaten one specific individual. It’s not easy to say whether a person will panic or not.

It’s difficult because everyone has their own mental structure and, accordingly, everyone can do the same thing. dangerous situation see it from different angles and react to it differently.

What does panic lead to?

Psychologists say that it is virtually impossible to predict panic with one hundred percent accuracy. One thing is for sure: during times of fear, most people begin to do things that they would not normally do before. For example, panic can lead to some antisocial actions. In similar situations, fear is a strong motivator for active actions. Although, on the other hand, objective panic, that is, one in which there is a real threat to life, rarely causes fear. Many people confuse panic with less stressful situations. This happens due to the influence of the media. The latter are called panic fear something that is not, in order to give the plot a special edge in order to raise the rating. In order not to fall into the information trap, you need to know the causes and signs of panic.

At the end of the last century it was carried out whole line experiments on humans and animals. It became clear what panic is and the reasons for its occurrence. It was also found out what it means on a subconscious level and how to deal with it. It was concluded that panic is a natural defense mechanism against critical situations that pose a mortal threat to life. It also became known that it is precisely active, defiant behavior during panic stress has as its goal to attract attention to itself in order to call for help. That is, when a person panics, he seems to be trying to convey to the people around him that he is in danger. It clearly signals that help is vitally needed. What is remarkable is that both animals and people had exactly the same reactions to manifestations of danger.

Collective panic - what is it? How does it arise?

Now we need to figure out what it is collective panic, the features of which deserve special attention. Let's start with the fact that when an individual is in a certain social environment, most often in a crowd, then between him and other people it is as if non-verbal communication. It, in turn, is based on the collective unconscious, which was studied by Carl Jung, famous philosopher and psychologist. According to his research, people in a crowd seem to have one mental condition on everyone, merging into a single, common mental structure.

Reasons why it happens uncontrollable seizures collective panic are explained by the fact that in a crowd a person loses his sense of responsibility. Everything can always be blamed on someone else, which leads to unrest and uncontrollable situations. People who know first-hand what panic is in a crowd know that fear emanating from one person can be transmitted to others. And thus, according to a certain chain reaction the whole crowd will be infected with panic.

Why is collective panic dangerous?

For a sudden outbreak, all it takes is a small spark, and a large flame of panicked collective fear flares up, which is then extremely difficult to extinguish. Mass panic attacks are especially dangerous in a tight confined space, for example, in a burning room. Under such conditions, self-control is lost, and behavior becomes unpredictable and often aggressive.

Self-preservation instincts play with some cruel joke. Because there are common cases where, as a result of panic, many people were trampled to death, those who were simply unlucky enough to stumble and stumble. It seems that this is what is called natural selection. It can only be seen in cases where instincts prevail over reason. In many scientific circles, research is being conducted on collective panic, the mechanisms of its occurrence and ways to combat it.

Panic disorder

However, it is one thing when panic is a one-time phenomenon caused by a truly serious critical situation. It’s another matter when it appears without objective, visible reasons, the source of which is internal mental problems. Panic disorder, which is also called episodic paroxysmal anxiety, unfortunately, is a common occurrence in the 21st century.

Due to a nervous and stressful lifestyle in an eternal pursuit, the psyche experiences various disruptions. One of these are sudden outbreaks of fear and panic activity, which in patients usually lasts from ten to thirty minutes. These attacks are scary because they are unpredictable. They can happen once a year or once every few days, when the next attack will occur - no one knows. Waiting for another attack also has a negative impact on the psyche.

Signs of panic attacks. Treatment of the disease

During panic attacks, the body works harder than usual. Sweating, fever, rapid heartbeat, headaches and work disturbances are observed respiratory tract. Also negative factor This disorder is society. He is quick to judge or ridicule the behavior of a person suffering from panic attacks. Because of such cases, people often withdraw into themselves, isolate themselves from society and lead an antisocial lifestyle that ends in self-destruction.

Treatment of such cases takes an extremely long time, from six months to several years. Therapy refers to both work with a psychotherapist and techniques potent drugs under the watchful supervision of specialists. Psychologists widely use the so-called “thought stopping” method, which, when applied correctly, is extremely effective in treating such problems.

A little conclusion

Not every psyche can withstand the rhythm modern life. Almost everyone knows firsthand what panic is. Some saw it on TV or read about it in newspapers, others, those who had to experience it personal experience, was less fortunate. Everyone will probably agree that this problem is relevant and requires study and solution. This scary word- panic, which is often used to scare people on screens, is not so scary if you know what it is and how to deal with it.

Part 1. Etiology and phenomenology

Anxiety is the director
our inner theater.
Joyce McDougall

Widespread in Lately panic attacks allows us to think about them not as a separate syndrome, but as a systemic phenomenon, and requires a more careful study of the cultural context in which they “flourished”. I offer my vision of this phenomenon, using systems approach and turning to the metaphor of the Self as territory when describing it.

Dynamic world

The modern world for humans is becoming less and less predictable, stable, and predictable. Social institutions, which previously performed the function of stabilizing the Self (family, church, profession), have now lost it. As for the institution of family and marriage, here too we observe the emergence significant amount alternative forms of marriage and family relations characteristic of the postmodern era:

separate marriages;

swinging;

modern forms of polygamy;

deliberately childless, or childfree marriages,

communes, etc.

The profession also ceases to perform the function of stabilizing the individual. If previously a profession was “enough” for a lifetime, it was enough just to take advanced training courses, but now the age of many professions is less than human.

In general, the modern world is becoming more dynamic, limitless, diverse, multi-format and offers a person a variety of various options choice. This in itself is not bad, but there is another side to this coin. Modern man often turns out to be unprepared for this kind of abundance of offers from the world, falling into a situation of confusion, anxiety, and sometimes panic.

World Challenges and Identity

The absence of a stable external world is reflected in the internal world. Today, in order to answer the question “Who am I?”, a person constantly has to choose. The situation of choice inevitably gives rise to anxiety. And since you have to constantly choose, the anxiety becomes constant.

Modern man is faced with big amount elections under increasing time pressure - the world is constantly accelerating. And his Self simply cannot keep up with him. All this creates identity problems modern man. In order to keep up with the rapidly changing world, the Self must have paradoxical qualities - to be both dynamic and stable, to maintain this complex balance, balancing between variability on the one hand and stability on the other.

It is not surprising that modern man is forced to be in constant tension: if you fixate on the pole of stability, you will fall behind the constantly accelerating world, if you swing into the pole of variability, if you chase the world, you will lose yourself, your Self. In order to adapt to the current conditions, the Self must constantly adapt creatively, balancing along the entire length of the segment between the indicated poles, without losing the sense of integrity: “This is Me.”

And the Self is not always creative and holistic enough to cope with the challenges modern world. A person in such a situation may perceive the world as dangerous, unpredictable, and himself, his Self, as weak, unstable in the face of this dynamically changing world.

The alienation trap

Another feature of modern man is the loss of connection with other people. In the modern world there is less and less social forms, in which a person would feel that he belongs and is involved. He is increasingly forced to rely on himself. Individualism is becoming one of the leading values of the modern world. Self-sufficiency, autonomy, the ability to independently solve problems, competitiveness - these are the priorities of a modern person.

Attachment, emotional involvement, sensitivity, and the ability for human support in this situation are often assessed as weakness and even dependence. “Never ask anyone for anything” - the advice that Woland gives to Margarita often becomes the motto of a person in this world. Strong, independent, emotionally insensitive – these are the main features that make up the image of a modern person. Modern man is becoming increasingly narcissistic and this inevitably leads him to loneliness, an inability to be intimate and an inability to rely on others.

In this situation of a dynamic world and strict requirements Personality makes it difficult for a person to relax and trust the world.

Control as a defense against anxiety

This is where Anxiety appears on the psychic scene. Anxiety is the result of a situation of mistrust external environment and the internal environment - your Self.

Thus, the lack of stability in the external world and the instability of the internal world gives rise to severe anxiety. And anxiety, in turn, creates the need for control.

Control is back side anxiety that is not recognized by a person. Control here is a way to cope with anxiety. Behind anxiety are fears - “the world is unstable, and therefore dangerous, and I am too weak to be stable in this world.”

It is unbearable for a person to remain in a situation of anxiety for a long time. The only one for him possible option coping with such a situation becomes an attempt to control it. Control here acts as protection, as an attempt to make life, dynamic, fluid and, because of this, dangerous world dead, stable, predictable and most importantly - safe.

In this case, both other people and split-off parts of one’s self can become objects of control.

Anxiety and the body

The body also becomes one of such objects of control of the Self in the modern world. The body has ceased to be a support for modern man, for his Self. In the process of development of the Self, the body gradually becomes alienated from the Self, the Self ceases to be perceived as the Self. Although initially, as is known, the Self appears precisely as the bodily Self.

However, as it develops, the I becomes more and more identified with the mind and finally “settles” in the head. And the body is not the last refuge that the I leaves. Following the body, the I becomes increasingly alienated from the emotional sphere.

Having ultimately identified with the mind, the Self of a modern person begins to treat functionally both the body and emotions, as a kind of tools serving the Self. What was previously originally the Self, constituted its foundation, base, becomes the territory of the non-Self. And now I can only control these alienated, abandoned territories, manage them. The body and emotions, in response to this, begin to take revenge on the Self, ceasing to obey it.

Moreover, the higher the degree of this alienation, the more difficult it becomes for the I to control them. Thus, the Self loses more and more connection with emotions and with the body, which, among other things, perform the function of contact with the world. I find myself in a situation of isolation from important means contact with reality.

I, reduced to reason, deprived of information and faced with a situation of non-subordination of controlled territories, falls into a panic. And there is a reason! In the situation described, I look like a kind of tadpole - a little man with a disproportionately large head, a frail body and thin legs. The function of support and stability becomes very problematic here. And the function of contact with others and the world too.

You can contact others through feelings, you can contact the world with the help of your body. In both the first and second cases, the head is not the best “tool” for contact.

"Betrayal" of the body

The words in the title of the article about “betrayal of a body that goes crazy” do not seem entirely correct. In fact, it is not the body that goes crazy, but the I, who is faced with the situation of being unable to control the body. And the betrayal, as we have already found out, was initially committed not by the body, but by the Self. The body rather takes revenge on the Self for the betrayal committed earlier.

The “betrayal” of the body is manifested in the fact that bodily physiological functions are not subject to control by the reasonable, rational Self. The body becomes alien, uncontrollable and dangerous for the Self. Lost in the world, the I receives a new blow - the body betrays it, not obeying it. For the Self this is a rebellion, a revolution.

At this point there is a large number of anxiety and I panic.

Anxiety automatically “takes” a person to another level of functioning – borderline and even psychotic. This disorganizes a person’s personality and behavior and greatly narrows the boundaries of his adaptive capabilities. The usual, habitual level of response becomes impossible for him. “Everything is lost!”, “End of the world!” - the most typical emotional state of a person in a situation of high intensity anxiety.

Why panic? Panic is essentially a psychotic reaction.

In panic, the level of anxiety is so high that the zone of control (as a means of protecting against it) expands and begins to include bodily physiological reactions - breathing, cardiac activity - something that is not controlled by consciousness.

Faced with the impossibility of controlling something that cannot be controlled by the I (anxiety increases even more), the I panics, even to the point of losing contact with reality. Symptoms of neurotic and even border level there is not enough here to cope with this level of anxiety. Since here, as I wrote above, the basic human need- need for security.

And what is very important is that this condition occurs suddenly! A person suddenly finds himself in a state small child, thrown into a huge world, a world that turned out to be dangerous, and you don’t have the strength to survive in it, and there’s no one around. And this is equivalent to a state of unlife: physical - “I’m dying” and mental - “I’m going crazy.”

Describing their state at such moments, people say that “the ground disappears from under your feet”, “you lose your support”, “as if you are rapidly falling into a deep abyss”, “As if you are going down the stairs in the dark and there are no steps there”...

More often, people with an initially impaired need for security and impaired attachment fall into this state. However, these can also be people in situations of life crises.

These are moments when a person needs to make an important decision in his life, when he needs to radically change something in his life (work, study, place of residence) and the usual ways of life that previously stabilized the person become inaccessible to him, and support from outside the outside world is not enough.

For example, when you need to move to another city, finish school and go to university, get married, when a child is born. In general, when you need to change something in your identity.

This acts as a trigger for the development of a panic reaction. But this is not enough. Personal readiness must also be formed - the presence of certain personality traits, which I wrote about above. And such traits are present in a person of the modern world as a typical attribute of a person of this time. If they “meet” in one person, an instant reaction occurs!

And here a person should seek support, ask for help. However, asking turns out to be impossible for him - it contradicts his identity as a strong, independent person. In his picture of the world, turning to another, asking for help are qualities weak person. So he falls into a trap - the trap of individualism and alienation from the other.

The symptoms of panic during anxiety, for all their severity and intolerance, are quite stable, since they allow a person not to directly face his fears, not to make a choice, not to change his identity. They distract a person from his real problem, transferring his thoughts to a different plane.

When anxiety disorders with bouts of panic, he decides the question “What should I do with my rebellious body?” instead of the question “What should I do with myself and my life?”

As a result, it becomes almost impossible to get out of this situation on your own. Panic attacks further increase a person's anxiety and defenselessness in the face of an uncontrollable world. The circle closes and draws him deeper and deeper into the funnel of hopelessness.

It turns out that it is difficult to withstand such a level of intensity even for those people who are in a close relationship with such a person and want to help him in some way. The partner is not always able to contain the overwhelming emotions that arise literally “out of the blue.”

The work of a therapist here is also quite difficult. More on this in the next article.

Documented evidence shows that panic in most cases can last from 5 to 10 minutes. Sometimes the process may take longer. External influence and medical assistance are required to bring unfit people out of this state.

Real cases

Those who have experienced this terrible event say that suddenly the soul is seized with fear, which literally paralyzes and does not allow it to move. There is strong anxiety and a feeling of an approaching catastrophe. The body secretes sticky sweat, and the head is dizzy. The only desire remains: to quickly escape from this vicious place and leave it quickly.

Some people may experience these bouts of despair on a daily basis, which negatively impacts their lifestyle. Many people seek help from specialists and are diagnosed with panic attacks.

Reasons for panic

Many scientists and doctors were engaged in practical research in this area. For example, Dr. Phil Berker linked the occurrence of a panic attack with the frequency of drinking alcoholic beverages. About 63% of his patients suffering from such syndromes regularly drank alcohol in varying quantities. However, you should not think that there is a direct connection. It’s just that after drinking alcohol, the human body becomes more vulnerable to various psychological stresses.

Berker believes that the reasons may be purely domestic in nature. For example, cheating on the woman he loves can lead a man to the bottle, and then to panic attacks after sobering up.

Natural predisposition to the disease

The famous Professor Junschild, who studies the human body and the functioning of the brain, argues that mental disorder is a consequence of an imbalance in the chemical balance in the body and especially the limbic system. It is this part of the brain that is responsible for a person’s emotional state. Psychological stress triggers a natural defense mechanism. The person is offered a choice: immediate flight or entry into confrontation. The cerebellar tonsils are responsible for switching modes. They are the reason for the manifestation of signs of a psychic attack in the absence of the right solution. If the trigger in the head clearly moves into one position, then panic does not arise. Man acts on instinct to survive.

The professor attributes this reaction to stimuli to relict reactions left to us from our ancestors. At a time when there were no cities, roads or cars, the inhabitants of the caves had to fight on equal terms with large predators and their neighbors. Only the strongest and fittest warriors and hunters survived. Thus, nature has created a population of men with increased secretion of galanin, which is responsible for stress resistance. Females did not need such protection, which is why they are more likely to experience panic attacks today.

A lack of galanin causes inhibition of the cerebellar tonsils, which leads to a feeling of intense fear and a premonition of one’s own death. Statistical data confirms the professor’s conclusion: women more often turn to specialists for panic attacks than the stronger sex.

Why breathe deeper?

Many people know the expression “breathe deeply,” which can sometimes be heard from specialists and doctors. However, not everyone understands that such a procedure can really help in overcoming panic. During this reaction, the body's breathing rhythm is disrupted and the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood increases sharply. The body begins to work intermittently. To return the blood to normal, it is necessary to sharply increase the flow of oxygen. This can be helped by deep breathing. As a result, the chemical balance in the limbic system is restored, and the panic goes away.

Age predisposition

American psychiatrists compared cases of panic in different age categories and came to the conclusion that 40% of patients seeking help first felt signs of panic before the age of 20. The symptoms that appear in children are similar to those found in adults, only the level of fear is expressed in a more acute form. Mental disorders have a severe impact on the general condition of the body and often cause aggression towards others.

How to treat panic?

The best results come from combined treatment methods. These include psychological therapy and special medications. Much depends on the patient himself. To quickly overcome the crisis, you need to strictly adhere to the recommendations of specialists, for example, do physical exercises or immediately call a support group. Relying on medications alone is not a panacea for the disease and can only help for a short time.