The ABC's of Panic Attacks

One of the most powerful influence within the paradigm of anxiety, most, if not every person who ever experiences a panic attack will state that it came "out of the blue." However, in discussing the cycle of anxiety, a very specific system is at work.

The features of a panic attack include an intense period of fear or discomfort, followed by varying symptoms, ranging from palpitations, sweating, and trembling, to shortness of breath, dizziness, hot/cold flashes, and a feeling of impending doom. Panic attacks come on suddenly and usually builds in intensity for 10 minutes or so, with a very real feeling of needing to escape the situation you're in. There are usually three types of panic attacks. The first is the unexpected panic attack. If you suffer this type of panic attack, it isn't associated with what you're doing as the time. For example, you could be hanging out with your friends when all of a sudden you feel dizzy and as if you're going to go crazy. This is the panic attack that is usually followed by the statement "it came completely out of the blue."

The second type of panic attack is one that is situationally bound. This means that you are in the midst of doing something when the panic attack happens. For example, you always suffer a panic attack when you think about a test or are about to actually get out your pencil or pen and take it. In every other area of your life, you never suffer a panic attack.

The third type of panic attack is a situationally predisposed panic attack. This type of panic attack is associated with a cue, but does not necessarily occur immediately after the exposure. For example, you might have two tests to take and get through the first one without suffering a panic attack. However, when you go to take the second test you do have a panic attack. Or perhaps you were able to get through both tests without a panic attack, but suffer one two hours later while you are at lunch.

What occurs when you suffer a panic attack can be explained by two letters: S and R. From a psychological standpoint this represents an equation where a stimulus (S) elicits a specific response (R), or S → R. A negative thought or physical symptoms can often become a stimulus, activating a negative response, either in terms of your thoughts, feelings, or physical reaction. In doing so, your thoughts, feelings and physical responses feed on one another. Along with this pattern, however, memory is crucial.

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