Why do people have panic attacks? When trying to figure out why some of us have to suffer through panic attacks, or in my case, used to suffer through panic attacks, I guess we need to discuss a little human biology. However, we could make this human biology course a pretty short one by simply saying adrenaline is behind panic. Adrenaline is a chemical that helps drive we mammals.

From time to time mammals will work themselves into a condition where adrenaline changes their behavior and feelings. We’ve all seen a scared dog or especially a scared cat and we’ve noticed the way they’re hair stands up and their backs hunch. When a cat is in this condition he is not so because he choses to be. He does not realize his hair is standing up and he does not realize his back is arched. It is the adrenaline causing this.

Adrenaline is secreted when we are in a state of fear. We were created to have extra power when we were in this state. This is because we certainly need extra resources when we are under attack or need to overcome some foe. For instance, if we had met up with a wild tiger we would need to get out of his area in a real hurry. While this is very unlikely to happen, adrenaline would give us the ability to run faster in such a situation. We would react without thinking and because of the adrenaline have a better chance of survival than we would have if we had no adrenaline in our system.

When adrenaline comes over us for what seems like no reason, we then have the chance to take inventory of our feelings. Unlike when we meet up with a tiger and have no time to ponder how we feel, in normal everyday living situations we will not be running away from wild animals and we will have plenty of time to realize the feelings adrenaline has brought on.

When we are in a state of adrenaline, our pupils dilate, our heart races, our palms sweat, our muscles tighten up and we certainly feel very strange. So strange in fact, that is possible to sometimes even see things that didn’t really happen. This is because of a combination of imagination and our strange, unfocused, filmy vision we all seem to have when adrenaline is pumping heavily through our bodies.

Being in a state of adrenaline is very scary so, many of us try to fight away the scary feelings. The problem is, adrenaline is brought on by the flight or flight syndrome. So, if we try to fight the strange feelings adrenaline has brought upon us, we will simply pump more adrenaline through our bodies and the strange sensations we are afraid of will become even stronger.

The condition where a person is pumping adrenaline through his body, then fears its feelings thus pumping more adrenaline through his body, is called the “cycle of fear” and the arts of overcoming a panic attack lies in the ability to unwind the cycle of fear.

It is important to realize that what made the adrenaline come on the first place is is not relevant. Adrenaline can start pumping for any of many reasons and it is natural. It is when we think that the heavy pounding in our chests is a heart attack and the vision tricks that we are watching life through is a brain malfunction that panic overwhelms us. Of course, if are converned about your physical health, you should check with a medical professional about these concerns you have. However, the bottom line is when we fight the sensations of adrenaline and fear, we can work ourselves into a state of panic.

This is not to say we’ve done anything wrong or that we should blame ourselves if we have a panic attack. However, it is important to note the next time we start to feel as if a panic attack is coming, it is best we not try to fight it off. Letting adrenaline flow through our bloodstreams will not do us any harm. However, trying to fight or run away from the adrenaline will bring on more adrenaline and possibly leave us vulnerable to panic.