I’d like to discuss anger’s role in the generation and sustenance of panic attacks and anxiety. To give the matter its due, I’ve decided to present the information in two parts. In this edition, part one, we’ll review what anger is in the eyes of the psychoanalysts and cognitivists. And in part two we’ll have a closer look at how anger directly impacts panic and anxiety. Well, are you ready? Let’s get to work.

The French psychiatrist, Jacques Lacan, a 20th Century pioneer in psychoanalysis, believed aggression is generated as a psychological defense against the threat of something known as fragmentation; the mental and emotional sense of losing control over self-cohesion. Now, fragmentation may present in a feeling of low-grade distress, or it may manifest in all-out panic and terror, for fear of total annihilation. Lacan took the whole matter to infancy where a human is simply a mish-mash of biological functions well beyond internal management. And the only goal one could have is to at least make an effort to pull everything together into some semblance of cohesive identity. (more…)

Anxiety attacks too much fear, worry or stress. It is during this crucial period that a person may be reduced to a nervous wreck or come out of it still whole and live a normal life.

In order to avoid the onset of an attack it is important that you must understand what an anxiety attack is and what are its symptoms. Of course, an average person must have experienced the symptoms at some point in their life but it is unlikely to have reached a certain level to cause panic. In other words it is manageable and within the range of our capacity to overcome the attack.

Do you remember giving a speech for the first time and you feel your heart pounding wildly or a relationship of a loved one at the brink of disaster? The possible loss of a job and a confrontation with your boss can cause you untold tension and misery. They are elements of disaster and if not handled correctly, an anxiety attack may set in. (more…)

The panic disorder is a sickness that is affecting mostly people that are in their early or middle maturity. It is distinguished by unprovoked brief episodes of panic. The feelings of intense fear are also experienced during the panic disorder episodes. The fear comes together with different types of physical discomfort as hand numbness, the feeling of smothering as well as the chest pain.

A panic disorder episode always starts very quickly and more often than not without any warning. It usually reaches its peak in about ten minutes. The medical treatment for the panic disorder is effective and has positive results for more than two thirds of the people who experience this kind of affection. (more…)

A panic attack might be a very frightening experience because it will take you by surprise most of the times. All of a sudden, you feel hit by numerous symptoms like losing control, suffocating or feel like having a heart attack. The panic attack is an experience that may be very traumatizing and you can even feel that you are dying at the very moment it happens.

A panic attack might strike any person at any time and basically everywhere. There is no reason it will hit a person, even though the excessive level of stress might be one of the causes of it. More often than not, a panic attack occurs randomly. (more…)

In my ongoing quest for knowledge pertaining to the contributors to panic attacks and anxiety, as well as treatment strategies and techniques, I came upon some very cool stuff several years ago. It’s called Somatic Experiencing (SE) and it’s the amazing work of Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. This will be the first in a series of two articles. Here we’ll have a look at SE within the context of a contributor to panic and anxiety. The article that follows will approach SE from a treatment perspective. Well, tune-in because I know you’re going to find the information fascinating, hopeful, and helpful.

SE came to life as Dr. Levine observed that though wild animals of prey are under constant threat and siege, they’re rarely traumatized. Well, I never really gave that much thought, but I suppose it’s true. So, just how in the heck do they pull that off? Well, credit is given to an innate regulating mechanism that very efficiently manages and discharges the energy that accumulates in their bodies as a result of self-preservation behaviors. Levine observed that when an animal of prey survives a potentially deadly chase, it actually takes time to physically shake-off unused energy before moving on with the herd. Well, Levine posits we humans are equipped with essentially the same mechanism; however, ours is greatly inhibited by our more advanced cognitive capabilities. Man, how many times does thinking mess things up for us? By the way, isn’t it interesting that we so often use the phrase, “Just shake it off,” when someone takes a relatively minor hit of some kind. (more…)

In a previous article I discussed the importance of including balance issues in any discussion of the contributors to panic attacks and anxiety. Amazingly, this connection hasn’t received much attention, but it appears as though that’s changing. Yes, children with balance issues are being assessed for signs and symptoms of anxiety, and intervention strategies and techniques are being developed and implemented. This is great news, as it holds the potential to save millions from life-long suffering.

As you may know, in addition to our sense of hearing the inner ear is the headquarters of balance and equilibrium. Within the membranous labyrinth, a fluid-filled structure deep within the inner ear, is a relatively large area known as the vestibule. And it’s the “vestibular system” that monitors and manages balance and equilibrium by receiving and integrating input from the eyes, ears, and muscles of the trunk, neck, and limbs. Of course, the vestibular system gets a little help from its friends, one of which is the brain’s cerebellum. I guess it would make sense that the cerebellum is a major player in the integration of sensory perception, as well as motor control.

(more…)

The human brain is absolutely amazing. And as much as we’ve learned about it, it remains one incredibly mysterious three-pound mass of tissue and fluid. The brain’s functioning has certainly been a puzzle to me over the many years, as it’s facilitated a long bout with panic disorder, as well as dances with other distressing mental, emotional, and physical phenomena. Lately, I’ve become more and more fascinated with how a panic sufferer’s assorted pathological challenges present and interact. Here are just some of my thoughts.

I was nine-years-old when an episode of derealization struck me like a lightening bolt while I was sitting at a kitchen table with my parents and their friends. I panicked and ran from the scene. During that same timeframe it was often written on my report cards that I was seemingly unable to sit still and would occasionally wander around the classroom. As a junior in college intrusive thoughts entered my airspace. I was walking down the sidewalk in downtown East Lansing, MI. and saw a woman coming toward me pushing a stroller. Out of nowhere I wondered what would happen if I punched her baby right in the face. Wow!

(more…)

One could write and talk for days about the potential contributors to panic attacks. So much so that I choose to use the term “contributors,” not “causes.” And that’s because I believe using the term “causes” throws a very unnecessary roadblock in the path toward relief, as it attempts to find solid and defined explanations for why panic attacks occur. Ultimately, that’s great; however, I find it limiting in the immediate. At any rate, I want to discuss a very common psychological contributor to panic attacks that I refer to as the “We Do It Intentionally Paradox.”

First, just what is a paradox? Well, it’s something that may appear to be incongruent with what’s accepted as common sense, yet it’s very likely true. That said, it’s my observation that many panic sufferers may consciously and/or unconsciously intentionally trigger their panic attacks. Is that paradoxical enough for you? Geez, don’t get angry at me now. If this notion is true, and it applies to you, it can serve to provide a lot of direction. So think about it. Before I go into detail, could it at least be possible?

(more…)

If you believe panic attacks are overrated, you haven’t searched Google lately on the subject. “Panic attacks” received roughly 15,600,000 search hits and “anxiety attacks” Another 1,790,000. That proves that not only is there a great deal of interest in the subject but more importantly, a great many victims of the syndrome. I employ the word syndrome because its cause is mostly psychological as well as relatively “harmless” to the sufferer.

Its distinct cause is fear, plain and simple. This being said, however, it would be negligent to conclude that the symptoms are entirely psychosomatic because any number of panic attacks can be attributed to, enhanced by, or directly caused by the mental reaction to any number of drugs – marijuana included. One licensed practitioner (whose opinion has been affirmed by countless others) stated,

“Substance abuse and the withdrawal of the substance being abused can mimic panic attacks. Alcohol, marijuana, opiates, hallucinogens, cocaine, over-the-counter drugs (nasal sprays and diet tablets), caffeine and benzodiazepines can all be associated with panic attacks.”

(more…)

Hans Eysenck, a Brit born in Germany in 1916, may not be one of the more widely known personality theorists; however, he was one of the finest. And his work is important to panic attack sufferers.

Eysenck believed temperament, a characteristic mode of emotional response, is the featured component of personality. And he believed it was up and running at birth. Now, that isn’t to say he didn’t believe in the influence of environment, it’s just that he reasoned nature, as opposed to nurture, merited top billing with regard to how we think, feel, and behave.

Now, in his PEN (Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism) model, Eysenck submitted there are three dimensions of temperament; what he called “superfactors.” Within the context of panic, I’d like to limit our chat to neuroticism and extraversion.

Neuroticism
People that fall into this dimension are generally fairly calm to very nervous. According to Eysenck, these folks are prone to what he called “neurotic” problems, issues of a mental or emotional nature that result in stress. Interestingly enough, Uncle Hans focused upon the sympathetic nervous system. Well, panic sufferers know this system well, as under the direction of our fear and emotion circuitry, the sympathetic nervous system launches our physical fight/flight response. According to Eysenck, neuroticism involves, shall we say, a “hyperactive” sympathetic nervous system.

(more…)