The Science Behind the Sensation - What Triggers Panic Attacks?
Panic attacks are sudden bouts of intense anxiety that generally last only for a few minutes or even seconds.
What triggers panic attacks is the fight or flight response that humans naturally show to an apparent danger or threat.
When in danger, all our actions are aimed towards confronting or fleeing the threat.
The human nervous system has two sub-sections, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
The former releases adrenaline from the adrenal glands, which is responsible for increasing the heart rate, bringing about dyspnea and lightheadedness, while the latter strives to bring the body back to its normal state once the perceived danger is gone.
The body can not remain in a perpetual state of anxiety, so the parasympathetic nervous system will kick in sooner or later to calm our nerves down.
Once the sympathetic nervous system increases the heart rate, the speed at which our blood flows is increased, and blood is channeled from unwanted areas to the ones that support immediate action.
This creates a feeling of numbness in our body, which is often mistaken as a symptom of heart disorder.
The increase in heart rate preps up our speed of breathing too, as the tissues need more oxygen to act, and this often results in hyperventilation and a general loss of breath.
These panic attacks are a natural process aimed to make us more aware of the dangers around us, but sometimes they are activated even when there is no apparent danger around.
Upon delving deeper into the reasons, we find that a variety of other factors may contribute towards inducing an anxiety attack, ranging from our diet and the content of caffeine, sugar and alcohol in it, to general daily stress, which may lead to the release of adrenaline and other anxiety inducing hormones.
However, these attacks last only for a very short period of time and the body settles back down into its normal rhythm, soon as it discovers that the danger has passed and the environment is safe again.
The attack leaves us drained though, as the entire metabolism in the body is activated and a lot of energy is burned.
The above factors primarily contribute to the triggering of a panic attack.
What triggers panic attacks is the fight or flight response that humans naturally show to an apparent danger or threat.
When in danger, all our actions are aimed towards confronting or fleeing the threat.
The human nervous system has two sub-sections, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
The former releases adrenaline from the adrenal glands, which is responsible for increasing the heart rate, bringing about dyspnea and lightheadedness, while the latter strives to bring the body back to its normal state once the perceived danger is gone.
The body can not remain in a perpetual state of anxiety, so the parasympathetic nervous system will kick in sooner or later to calm our nerves down.
Once the sympathetic nervous system increases the heart rate, the speed at which our blood flows is increased, and blood is channeled from unwanted areas to the ones that support immediate action.
This creates a feeling of numbness in our body, which is often mistaken as a symptom of heart disorder.
The increase in heart rate preps up our speed of breathing too, as the tissues need more oxygen to act, and this often results in hyperventilation and a general loss of breath.
These panic attacks are a natural process aimed to make us more aware of the dangers around us, but sometimes they are activated even when there is no apparent danger around.
Upon delving deeper into the reasons, we find that a variety of other factors may contribute towards inducing an anxiety attack, ranging from our diet and the content of caffeine, sugar and alcohol in it, to general daily stress, which may lead to the release of adrenaline and other anxiety inducing hormones.
However, these attacks last only for a very short period of time and the body settles back down into its normal rhythm, soon as it discovers that the danger has passed and the environment is safe again.
The attack leaves us drained though, as the entire metabolism in the body is activated and a lot of energy is burned.
The above factors primarily contribute to the triggering of a panic attack.
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