Anxious thoughts often lead to more serious panic attack symptoms. These outwardly symptoms feed back to the mind , creating another wave of anxiety attacks greater than the last . This vicious loop repeats again and again .
Panic is defined as “a sudden fear which dominates or replaces thinking”.There is such a thing as reasonable panic, which is a panic based on logical reason. This is an inherited instinct of every person on earth, and is not related to panic attack disorder.
Perhaps you are hiking through the forest on a nice late spring day, and hear something behind you, it’s a huge bear charging at full speed, you panic, try to run away, climb a tree, dive into a lake, scream, you get the idea . I would call this panic based on reality , even if it is not the most intelligent thing to do , it does seem reasonable.
Another example could be that dreaded phone call in the middle of the night , awakened from a pleasant dream , you feel like you are suffocating , your heart is pounding out of your chest, knowing that voice on the phone is there to give you terrifying news. This might not be as good of a reason to panic as the bear but those terrible midnight telephone calls do happen.
A panic attack might be defined as “a sudden ‘unreasonable’ fear which dominates or replaces thinking”. If someone is at a fancy restaurant, enjoying a pleasant meal and suddenly the thought occurs that something is not right with the food. The room is full , as always with everyone else seeming to be just fine, except you.
The symptoms come on , perspiring, cold chills, shaking . Suddenly all you can imagine is that you will not panic, because there’s no reason. But the panic is already there and all you can feel right now . The more you try not to panic, the more you panic.
There could be physical or chemical causes for part of this, who cares ? Our brains work in very strange ways. How many times have you heard , “It’s all in your head”? Well, it could be, except just knowing it doesn’t change it. Don’t forget , it’s named “unreasonable” fear; you cannot just snap yourself out of it. realize there is an answer , and give yourself permission to find it.