People who live stressful, high powered lives are more likely than others to suffer from panic attacks. As the stress in our lives becomes more intense, the pressure increases. It’s a little like one of those whistling kettles that explode with steam and noise once they get to the right temperature. The pressure builds and builds and there is nowhere for it to go. The more stress you place on your body and mind every day, the closer you are at all times to that boiling point.
Our brain is very clever. It is constantly checking and rechecking to make sure we have all the reactions and chemicals we need to live our lives. It is always ready to kick-start our 'flight or fight response', ready to protect us against whatever is our perceived enemy. It can’t tell the difference between a real sabre-toothed tiger and a metaphorical one, but to all intents and purposes, the tiger is just as dangerous and we need protecting ourselves from it. The panic attack is merely our brain trying to look after us the way it has been doing ever since we first experienced stress.
Just because our brain thinks something is life threatening doesn’t mean that it is. It just means the most primitive part of our body, the part that works completely on instinct rather than logic or reason has decided we need a bit of a kick start. This can be either because we’re living on a constant rollercoaster of stress or because something in our environment has reminded us of something we associate with danger and hence the need for a 'flight or fight' reaction.
If you’ve ever brushed past a car alarm, barely touching it, and it’s gone off you’ll know how easy it can be to set off something incredibly sensitive. Our 'flight or fight response' can be a bit like that too.
smallest event and it’s difficult to stop it once its screams of protest against danger have begun.
The solution is simple. If we go back to our whistling kettle, the simplest way to stop it boiling, letting all that steam and noise go, is to turn down the heat. Our panic attacks can be managed or prevented in the same way. All we need to do is turn down the heat. Even if the day to day stress remains the same, we can learn to manage it, at a simmering boil, rather than at a fast and furious froth of bubbles and heat.
Stress Can Trigger a Panic Attacks
Stress Can Trigger a Panic Attacks
Stress Can Trigger a Panic Attacks
Stress Can Trigger a Panic Attacks
