By Amanpreet Singh, Psychologist

A panic attack is a sudden feeling of fear and strong physical responses in the body to harmless circumstances. It develops when you worry too much about some non-existing situations or past situations. Panic attacks can be very scary. Even though panic attacks themselves aren’t dangerous, they can be terrifying and essentially influence your satisfaction.

Symptoms

• Palpiatations (racing heart)
• Feeling weakness, faint
• difficulty in breathing
• feeling of choking
• discomfort
• Numbness and tingling in hands
• shivering sensation
• sweating or chills
• nausea
• sense of terror
• fear of dying
• losing control over the body
• The feeling of approaching destruction or risk
• Hot blazes

Triggers and Their Management

Stress

Stress is number one on the list of panic attacks. In fact, Stress can be brought about by many things, like, Work, school, family, well-being, and more could all be pressure instigating. Also, Stress can be caused by anything, some take things lightly or some cannot bear the stress of daily life, not able to handle the traumas of life. When the stress level rises in the body then many changes occur in the body, like, imbalances of hormones, and decreases or increases in appetite that could lead to many health issues as well.

Past Experience of trauma

Past traumatic experiences are also a big issue for many people. People suffer through many situations in their life. Some have very bad experiences in their life which cause trouble for them. When one is suffering through bad circumstances it makes a memory in your brain. This memory creates fear as you do not want to face the same situation in life. This fear gets bigger and bigger because you are feeding it by thinking again and again. Now, this fear has a certain place in your brain and neuron pathway is made because of thinking. This traumatic experience can lead to panic attacks.

Social Event

It is difficult for some people to face gathering socially. causes anxiety in some people. When someone has this phobia and is surrounded by a large number of people, which may cause a panic attack. Some find it uncomfortable to meet a new person or encounter social gatherings. This is one of the biggest triggers for many people. Loud noise at parties can also cause a panic attack. It is good to learn some of the coping strategies in these cases, as one can come along with someone to deal with certain situations. Try to socialize with a few people gathering so that you could be able to manage this trigger. Starting from a small point then you can go to a bigger event without having any anxiety.

Financial pressure

The financial issue is rising the anxiety level in many young generations. A lot of people are suffering from unemployment which causes stress. Many have suffered through financial issues because of the lockdown in the country. The level of stress is hiking in people for survival as the employment rate is decreasing and the population is increasing. The burden of bills, debt, and savings is triggering anxiety levels. can also cause panic attacks in many people. To deal with this problem one should focus on developing skills to generate money. Deep breathing and creating a skill can help you ease this type of stress and will prevent panic attacks.

Diet

Diet plays an important role in everybody’s life. Diet is the thing from where we get nutrition. One who is not taking a healthy or enough diet according to his body can face serious health issues, physically and mentally. To deal with stress in life one should have to manage eating habits and balance Protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Everybody has a different composition and different requirements for nutrition, it cannot be measured by experimenting on a few people and giving a certain amount to everyone. In dealing with stress or fear one should eat a portion of food which have tryptophan protein that helps to make serotonin in the body, moreover, the gut should also be kept clean and healthy as 90% of the serotonin is also made in the gut. In fact, Serotonin induces calmness in the brain and helps to deal with depression, and can manage panic attacks.

Caffeine

Many individuals have a habit of intaking caffeine in the morning. Using caffeine on empty stomach can activate the sympathetic system of the body which causes an increase in heart rate, alertness, irritation in the stomach, and some experience panic attacks. It is unhealthy for those who have certain health conditions like acidity, palpitations, and stress, all these things can be aggravated by drinking caffeine. Try to avoid caffeine in such conditions and replace it with some non-caffeinated drinks.

Unhealthy relationships

Fights in a relationship can trigger panic attacks. Also Fear of abandonment, trust issues, and trying to make other people behave according to you all these causes toxicity in the relationship which later on creates chaos in the mind. This leads to a stressful relationship and causes a panic attack. Managing this is mandatory so that both can lead happy life. Trust should be there and letting them be free to make choices can help strengthen the bond. was a relationship that can be kept healthy.

Health issues

When someone has existing health conditions or their loved ones are suffering from some medical conditions. Both of these things can create panic attacks. Fear is developed if someone is suffering through illness which makes them think all the time about their condition. Worrying about their illness may cause panic attacks.

Substance misuse

Substances like cocaine, methamphetamine, benzos, weed, and heroin as well can cause psychosis, including symptoms of anxiety. Going through withdrawals one might encounter Panic attacks.

Certain drugs

Few medications can cause a panic attack. Some medications like birth control pills, colds, and weight loss drugs can cause side effects that lead to panic attacks. Whenever you feel symptoms like anxiety after taking such medicines, consult your physician for alternative drugs.

Management

• Talk to a counselor
• Consult with a doctor
• Deep breathing
• Mindfulness
• Using Muscle relaxation technique
• Imagining your happy place
• Engaging in light exercise
• Chanting a Mantra internally