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At some point in life, many people will suffer at least one anxiety attack. The numbers of people who suffer with this problem are astounding. The reasons for these attacks can be as varied as the people experiencing the problem but there have been some common themes found in most cases.
Past History
Not everyone had a nice childhood, some people went through unimaginable trauma as a child and at some point in life these emotions can come back to cause an anxiety attack. Things like neglect and abuse often trigger panic or anxiety years after the fact when the person has become “safe”. Other times the trauma from childhood is not nearly so dramatic or intentional. A young child who experienced the death of a close family member at a young age for example may have anxiety attacks later in life.
Stress
While your childhood can have a significant impact on your adult emotional state, sometimes anxiety attack causes are something going on in your life right now. Anything that drives your stress levels up can precipitate an anxiety attack. For instance if you are under the gun at work to finish a project or the company is talking about cut backs you can find that stress is your constant companion and then for no apparent reason you have a severe anxiety attack.
Definition
Anxiety attacks are a primal body response to fear, real or imagined. The heart may begin to beat wildly and you could have problems catching your breath. This response is linked to the fight or flight response that you find in primitive man and some animals. For lack of a better explanation, it is a self-preservation mechanism that has preserved the species for years. The problem is most of us will never be in a real life do or die situation like facing a tiger or bear in the wild. However, that does not mean that you will never experience the fight or flight response. Panic and anxiety attacks are real and if left untreated can become a vicious cycle that is hard for the patient to get out of.
Cycle
One anxiety attack in public can actually set the stage for future episodes. Imagine you are at a nice lunch with your coworkers when from out of nowhere comes the feeling of extreme terror, you begin to sweat and nervously look around the room trying desperately to find an exit. When you do, you bolt for the door as if every hound of Hades is on your tail. Now when the anxiety attack has passed you will realize there was actually nothing there and you will be embarrassed.
This embarrassment will cause increased tension when you are faced with similar social situations in the future thereby increasing the chances that another anxiety attack will present, and this cycle will continue. Some people get to the place where they never leave their homes for fear of a panic or anxiety attack.
If you are concerned that you may be experiencing something like an anxiety attack, you should seek professional help before the problem escalates. With the help of professionals, you can control your anxiety attacks while you search for the root cause and deal with that issue.
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