Two in five Australians will have a panic attack at some point in their life. Why do they start? What’s happening in your brain? And are they dangerous? | EXPLAINER by sopphie. mentalhealth
. “I started hyperventilating, my heart started racing, I started crying. It was quite intense. I would be shaking so much to the point where I couldn’t control it.”
“You’re having a complete mind and body reaction,” says Associate Professor Jess Nithianantharajah, of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, “which is very scary, and you can’t effectively verbalise in these situations.” Some people, such as Percy, experience “spontaneous” panic attacks that occur when they wake up or while driving. “They’ll say it just comes out of the blue, but that’s often more for people who had a history of having them and so the triggers might be very, very subtle … deep in the back of your mind,” Hunt says. The key is to identify what the trigger is .Advertisement
Once the panic attack becomes the threat this can lead to panic disorder or agoraphobia . About 5 per cent of Australians will suffer from panic disorder at some point in their lives.We all possess the bodily functions and brain circuitry that can push us into a panic attack but not everyone who is anxious has attacks.
Kenardy is keen to clear up a common misconception. “People who panic might be seen as not as effective, not as capable – and that couldn’t be further from the truth. People who panic are often the high-achievers … the ones who are really pushing themselves hard and expecting much from themselves,” he says, adding they perhaps overlook the psychological impact that the stress is having.
Then, how the person interprets the episode matters. “The more that you reduce the amount of negative self-talk associated with how bad a panic attack is the more it will diminish its effect,” says Kenardy. Recognise that panic attacks are a form of anxiety and not dangerous, and that you do have a degree of agency over them.
Once people understand their triggers, they should come up with strategies for managing them, says Nithianantharajah. In other words, to “maintain brain control”. “Because it’s what you’re thinking that regulates how your body responds,” she says.
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