he causes of anxiety attacks are numerous. In the US, the National Institute of Mental Health has been investigating what causes these attacks. Their findings have proven to be detrimental. According to the NIMH the causes can be summed up to four sources: genetics, brain malfunction, biochemical abnormalities, and environmental stress. * Genetics. Numerous clinical investigations regarding anxiety disorders have found out that genetics play a major role as to which persons will be afflicted by this disorder. If one or both parents are known to have this disorder, then there is a good chance that anxiety disorder may be passed down to their offspring. This finding would underpin the belief that mental illnesses aren't hereditary. * Brain Malfunction. It was also discovered by researchers that certain parts of the brain responsible for organizing whatever data the body receives from external stimuli become over reactive when exposed to certain kinds of stimuli. This malfunction gives rise to anxiety attacks. To discover this fact, the researchers did some experiments. The researchers tried to induce panic attacks to their research subjects by deliberately exposing them to stimuli that are known to cause anxiety. One experiment they did was dosing the research subjects with large amounts of …show more content…
Another part of the research done was to deliberately give doses of sodium lactate to the test subjects. Sodium lactate is a naturally-produced chemical by the body that builds up in the muscles during heavy exercise. It was found out that this was able to induce anxiety attacks. Because lactic acid is used as a preservative in most dairy products being sold today it may be a factor in creating the biochemical abnormality which is one of the causes of panic attacks. Another chemical that was found out to upset the chemical balance in the body is carbon dioxide. This is why when people hyperventilate they would usually have an anxiety attack
Anxiety has both mental and physical effects, it is our internal alarm system to put our mind on a physical alert and prepares for us a "fight or flight response". This alarm can go away when we know that everything is okay and there is no danger nearby or nothing is going to happen but sometimes our alarm will not shut off and then an anxiety problem persists. There are different types of anxiety disorders and I will discuss generalized anxiety disorder
Geller is convinced that panic disorders are caused by a combination of biological and cognitive factors because a panic attack initiates responses from both factors. One of the biological factors of panic attacks is that the arousal that occurs is similar to the fight-or-flight response, and the body produces this response because it believes it is in danger. The cognitive factors include the physiological reactions that the body identifies as dangerous. The individual may think they have a medical condition or that they are out of control. These thoughts can cause the individual to become alarmed and cause greater arousal of the sympathetic nervous system (Gorenstein & Comer, 2015).
Your doctors will likely rule out any associated medical conditions first. Some medications or diseases can bring about a lot of the symptoms of an anxiety attack and so these need to be determined and dealt with first in order to eliminate any possible
First of all, there are many causes of anxiety. Anxiety may be caused by a mental condition, a physical condition, the effects of drugs, or a combination of these. Some common external causes are stress at work, school, in a relationship, from an emotional trauma, from a serious mental illness, from financial stress, and from taking drugs
Many times the source that contributes to the symptoms, that triggers the onset of the anxiety attack can be hard to identify. Some causing factors can be excessive
Such patients who don't want to go to doctors or medical professionals rely on alternative anxiety attack treatments or over-the-counter medications. Most medications that are available in the market today show good results and are very effective
Anxiety is an emotional state commonly cause by the perception of real or perceived danger that threaten the security of an individual. It allows a person to prepare for or react to environmental changes. (cite) Everyone have experienced some type of anxiety. These experiences have a certain amount of nervousness and apprehension when faced with a stressful situation. There is no one cause for anxiety disorders. Several factors can play a role such as genetics, brain biochemistry, overactive fight or flight responses can be caused by too much stress.
1. "Anxiety Attacks and Anxiety Disorders: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment." Helpguide helps you help yourself to better mental and emotional health. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June 2012. <http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_types_symptoms_treatment.htm>.
An anxiety attack is “the abrupt onset of intense fear or discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes”. Physical symptoms of an attack include palpitations, sweating, trembling and fear of losing control. This photo series aims to depict and bring awareness to this physical and mental aggression.
Timberline Knolls states,”The exact cause of generalized anxiety disorder is not fully known, but a number of factors-including genetics, brain chemistry and environmental stressors-appear
While it is not known what actually causes the attacks there are things that may play a role in those causes that include the following. Certain changes in the way the parts of your brain function. The flight or fight response to danger may contribute to a panic attack; however, it is not known why a panic attack occurs
There are several things going through the human mind which can lead to panic attacks. Intense fear is a major factor because, fear causes anxiety, you’re constantly worrying about when the attack will take affect again. Some people have a fear of the place where they had the attack to being with. Someone who deals with panic disorder can feel ashamed because, they cannot carry out daily activities regularly like everyone else can.
The "fight or flight" response triggers a flood of stress hormones called Cortisol which is designed to make the body's speed, circulation, heart rate, and reflexes a lot quicker than normal. Children for example who grew up in more of a abusive, argumentative environment are more prone to look aware for potential threats, even if there are none around. Even the way people eat can affect someone's anxiety. Studies have shown from The National Institute of Mental Health students who ate foods high in sugar, processed foods, and refined grains were more likely to experience anxiety. The students who had a rich diet in omega 3s experienced a twenty percent reduction in stressful environments. A long term effect of having anxiety can cause spikes in blood sugar, greater susceptibility to ulcers, cardiovascular problems, prone to more blood clots, increased stomach acid making the body feel nausea, pupil dilation, hyperventilation, confusion, shaking, chills, and headaches.In order for the body to prevent anxiety there must be a lot of work put into
Individuals may begin to hallucinate and become impulsive based on something that they are experiencing that does not exist. Panic attacks may come on out of the blue or be a result of a trigger. It is important to note that any level of anxiety is okay to experience, as a result of a presenting situation, for a brief amount of time, but it is when that state of anxiety lasts too long, is when it becomes a problem and impedes an individual’s life at an unhealthy level. Acute situation of mild to moderate situation can stimulate individuals to get something accomplished where severe to panic levels of anxiety can render individual to a helpless state. It can also be very debilitating if individuals attempt to avoid a trigger or suspected trigger that increases their anxiety because it can be and is extremely disruptive to an individual’s life. Anxiety can present itself in many forms, such as general anxiety, compulsion disorders, PTSD, ect. and all are disabling in one way or another, and all are distressing and weigh very heavily on both the mind and the
A panic attack is an episode of great fear or anxiety. While for some people certain events trigger these attacks on, others have them for no reason which can really be a traumatic experience if not treated properly. This is one of many reasons why medicine may be a good option for you if you are struggling with a lot of physical anxiety symptoms.