A panic attack is just your brain firing off your fight-or-flight response when there’s nothing actually dangerous happening. Think of like a hyper-sensitive fire alarm that goes off even when there’s no smoke or fire.
Our fight-or-flight response is an automatic physiological reaction that happens to prepare us for a dangerous situation. Say you’re walking in the woods and you happen upon a bear. The bear is angry and it charges at you. To survive, you’ll either need to fight, or run away (flight). This response instantly readies your body to do those things.
A panic attack is when this response is triggered in the absence of a threat. Panic attacks or anxiety disorders can have both psychological and physiological components. For example, if a person experience trauma, they might be more prone to anxiety and panic attacks. A person who has anxiety or panic attacks might also have an imbalance of chemicals in the brain.
Latest Answers