Anxiety attacks, also called panic attacks, are abnormal reactions to stress or perceived danger. While most people experience anxiety as a normal reaction to stressful situations, those who suffer from an anxiety disorder experience extreme physical reactions and often worry about everyday situations, to the point where anxiety interferes with day-to-day living. Nausea, heart palpitations and chest pain often accompany a panic attack. Anxiety attacks may occur for a variety of reasons.
Belief Systems
Anxiety attacks happen when a person believes there is a real threat. There doesn't have to be a true threat for the anxiety to escalate, just the belief that it's true. People with neuroses, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder, often are inclined to anxiety attacks. Those with traumatic childhoods or who have gone through dramatic life changes can be at risk for developing panic attacks and often base their beliefs about their current situation on past experiences.
Anyone who goes through a potentially dangerous situation may experience anxiety days or weeks after the event. As the person continues to play out the scenario in his mind and the worrying intensifies, the anxiety rises in response to the perceived threat.
Brain Disorder
Brain imaging techniques have shown dramatic changes in the hippocampus and amygdala portions of the brain in those presenting signs of anxiety disorders, reports the National Institutes of Health. The amygdala is the part of the brain that processes and interprets information. It is the area that lets us know when a threat is perceived. The amygdala also is the area that stores emotional memories.
The hippocampus stores dangerous memories. In people with anxiety symptoms who have suffered child abuse or other traumatic events, the hippocampus appears smaller than average, which may account for fragmented and distorted memories.
Other Causes
Research seems to indicate that anxiety attacks runs in families, as reported by the National Institutes of Health. When diagnosing anxiety disorders, health-care providers ask for a family history and look for trends in mental disorders, which can be set into motion following a traumatic event. Two people may experience a similar tragedy, and the person with a family history of anxiety and phobias has a higher tendency to react with extreme worry and panic.
Substance abuse specialists find a high percentage of drug addicts also experience panic attacks, called co-occurring illness or dual-diagnosis. There is no proof indicating whether the drugs caused the anxiety disorders or the patient was self-medicating an existing mental illness.
Other causes of anxiety attacks may include hyperthyroidism, head trauma, arterial heart valve problems and hypoglycemia.
