A panic attack is a “false alarm” in the brain. Our brains are hardwired to respond instantaneously, releasing everything we have physically and mentally in moments of crisis. Heroic stories of people lifting cars off of loved ones are examples of this.
In a panic attack we suddenly react physiologically, but there is no crisis. These attacks come “out of the blue.” Because there is no precipitating event, we wonder, “what’s wrong, am I dying, having a heart attack, or going crazy”?
Just as Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate to a bell, a panic attack becomes conditioned to the environment in which the attack occurred. Anticipatory fear of having another attack can cause anxiety.
There is also a tendency to want to avoid or have great anxiety about situations or places where the panic attacks have occurred. Agoraphobia, or literally “fear of the market place,” is more specifically fear of panic attacks.
