3 Reasons Why You Have Panic Attacks

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If you have recurring panic attacks, chances are you never want to experience another one! While there is no guarantee that you can get rid of them completely, addressing why you continue to have them can help.

Panic attacks are very common, and over one-quarter of all people will have at least one during their lifetime. People who have recurring attacks often inadvertently feed into the panic cycle.

Here are common reasons why you might continue to have panic attacks and what you can do about it.

1. You have catastrophic thoughts.

Many people have fearful thoughts during their attacks, and it is common to think you are having a heart attack, stroke, or "going crazy." Some people fear they will lose control or will faint during one. Others fear that an attack will never end.

When you have scary thoughts about panic attacks, it keeps you on alert and makes the attacks more likely to occur. In addition, these scary thoughts during an attack can cause even more anxiety, making them even more intense.

What to do about catastrophizing:

1. Remind yourself that a panic attack is a stress response. It is not a medical emergency, and it is not a sign of psychosis. People do not lose consciousness and faint during an attack, even though the sensations might feel very similar. (Fainting is caused by a rapid decrease in blood pressure, whereas panic involves an increase in blood pressure). Panic attacks cannot go on forever.
2. During an attack, remind yourself that this is a stress response, and it will pass. You can remind yourself of your previous episodes and that you managed to get through them without dying, losing control, or going on forever.
3. Talk to your doctor if you have a medical concern. Make sure you tell them you are prone to panic attacks. Once you have medical problems ruled out, remind yourself of that the next time you are anxious.

2. You pay too much attention to your body.

People with panic attacks tend to fear anxiety symptoms, like a racing heart, shortness of breath, or dizziness. They also tend to be on alert or hyperaware of sensations in their bodies. Unfortunately, being afraid and overly aware of body symptoms feeds into the panic cycle.

Here are the problems with too much body awareness:

• You might notice minor symptoms, like a slight increase in heart rate.
• Detecting a feared sensation could cause anxiety, causing the symptom to intensify and trigger other symptoms. The next thing you know, you are in the midst of a full-blown panic attack.
• Also, when you pay much attention to your body, you will notice more symptoms, making you more susceptible to panic attacks.
• You are also giving yourself the message: "I need to monitor my body because there is something potentially wrong with me."
• Thus, this body monitoring keeps the cycle of panic alive.

What to do about excessive body awareness:

1. Keep in mind that people who do not have panic attacks do not tend to pay a lot of attention to their body symptoms. They do not feel the need to be on alert, and as a result, they are not prone to panic attacks. The goal is to make you more like them in this way.
2. Be aware of when you are monitoring your body. Remind yourself that you do not need to monitor your body to keep yourself safe and that it reinforces your panic attacks.
3. Refocus your attention from your body to something outside yourself in your environment. For example, it could be a picture on the wall, the texture of your chair's fabric, or the sounds of children playing on the playground. Work on shifting your attention outside of your body whenever you are paying too much to your internal sensations.
4. Some people use a watch or another device to monitor their heart rate or other physiology. Using technology to monitor your body or "keep yourself safe" might inadvertently reinforce your panic attacks. Consider not using it for those purposes.

3. You avoid things due to the attacks.

People with panic attacks often try to avoid situations they associate with the attacks, such as going to restaurants, flying on airplanes, or driving on the freeway. They might also avoid things like exercise or caffeine, which causes a change in their body physiology.

Avoidance might help prevent you from having an attack in the short term. However, this is not a good long-term strategy. Avoidance reinforces your attacks and keeps your fears alive. Your world can start to become smaller and smaller, which keeps you trapped in the panic cycle.

What to do about avoidance:

1. Come up with an attainable plan for introducing avoided activities. For example, if you are afraid of driving on the freeway, think of the least scary part of the least intimidating freeway. Plan an exposure session:

— Start with someone else in the car for the first time.

— Practice driving one exit on the freeway, getting off, and returning to the exit again.

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— Repeat this process several times.

— During the next practice session, drive the same stretch of the road without someone in the car.

— Work your way up to doing two exits, and so on.

2. If you need the motivation to reduce avoidance behavior, tap into your values. For example, suppose you are anxious about going to a party because you fear having a panic attack. However, you have been very isolated lately and want to connect more with others. It might be worth risking having another panic attack if the activity could enrich your life!