| If you're searching for what causes panic attacks, | | | | beat, increased breathing rate, and sweating. |
| most likely either you or someone you know suffers | | | | A panic attack occurs when the activity of the adrenal |
| from panic attacks which are a common form of | | | | glands (and hence, the effects of adrenaline) is |
| anxiety disorder in our society. Although this disorder is | | | | prolonged. You then start to feel heart palpitation, |
| not life threatening in itself, it can be debilitating to the | | | | difficulty breathing, dizziness, hot flashes, and other |
| sufferer and can have a severe financial impact. | | | | symptoms that are quite frightening. |
| To understand what causes panic attacks, first let's | | | | A "perceived danger" (anything that makes you |
| briefly go over how the human body works and the | | | | nervous) such as public speaking, an interview, or |
| mind-body connection. You may have heard the term | | | | driving can trigger a panic attack. So can stressful |
| "fight or flight response" which is a form of defense | | | | events like a loss of a loved one and stresses on the |
| mechanism each person has that's activated when | | | | job. Moreover, when you feel an anxiety or panic |
| danger is sensed. At that moment the brain sends a | | | | attack symptom like rapid heartbeat which is due to |
| signal to the adrenal glands (the glands that sit above | | | | other causes such as exercising, drinking coffee, or |
| your kidneys) to produce a substance called | | | | taking certain medications you may think you're having |
| adrenaline, which in turn affects different organs of the | | | | a panic episode. So although the activity itself is not |
| body preparing you to either fight the threat or run | | | | what causes panic attacks, your increased anxiety |
| away from it. Some of the signs include rapid heart | | | | level can indeed trigger an attack. |