Panic Attacks (Anxiety Attacks)

Panic attacks (anxiety attacks) are the 'thin end of the wedge'. Panic attacks occur when anxiety levels reach a peak, when symptoms are at their most extreme and when the sufferer experiences maximum discomfort and fear.

Panic attacks are nothing more than an extreme manifestation of inappropriate anxiety which occurs when the anxiety control mechanism in the brain becomes 're-set' at a higher than 'normal/acceptable' level of anxiety after times of stress, worry or sadness for example.

Panic attacks are not a feature of every sufferer's anxiety; panic attacks usually develop when the sufferer is in deep anxious behaviour which affects breathing patterns to the extent where blood oxygen/carbon dioxide levels become affected which results in a panic attack reaction.

Panic attacks are harmless, they just feel extreme. The sensations and thoughts we experience during panic attacks are simply exaggerated 'normal' bodily sensations and are all part of the 'fight or flight' anxiety response which developed to assist us when under threat.