Everything happens in an instant: the pounds like a jackhammer, the body tightens as if in a corset. Dizziness, shortness of breath, and terrifying thoughts are so unbearable that it feels like you’re dying, even though you’re perfectly healthy.
About one in three people will experience at least one in their lifetime. This term refers to an excessive reaction of the body to perceived danger. “The typical response is ‘fight-or-flight-freeze.’ The body and mind are trying to protect you in response to an anticipated threat,” explained clinical psychologist Reid Wilson in an interview with Popular Science. He is the author of the book “Don’t Panic: How to Take Control of Anxiety Attacks.”
How Does the Body React to Panic?
When a person perceives an external threat through their five senses, the thalamus, which processes these sensations in the brain, sends a specific signal. This signal travels deep into the , reaching the amygdala—a tiny cluster of nerves that serves as the main arbiter of curiosity and avoidance. The amygdala interprets the message and sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, the control center for involuntary body functions like breathing. The hypothalamus then directs a chemical SOS signal to the adrenal glands, prompting them to release cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream.
“This triggers a cascade of changes throughout the body. Consciousness no longer controls the situation,” says Wilson.
For instance, if a lion is attacking you and the difference between life and death is mere milliseconds, there’s no time to weigh your options. Your body makes the decision for you. Your pupils dilate. Breathing and heart rate quicken. The mind becomes hyper-focused. Blood is redirected, prioritizing less critical areas like the fingers and toes.
For a long time, it was believed that this chain of fear, triggered by external factors, was the same for all types of panic, with the amygdala being the engine of any fear. However, recent research has shown that the behavior of the amygdala actually depends on the context.
According to scientists, fear triggered by bodily sensations, such as shortness of breath, is another cause of panic attacks. This somewhat explains why panic attacks can seem to come out of nowhere.
How Breath-Holding Triggers Panic
Perhaps more than once after a stressful day, you’ve suddenly noticed that you haven’t taken a deep breath in a while. In some cases, the amygdala acts in the opposite way: it doesn’t ignite fear but tries to suppress it, thereby blocking breathing.
This phenomenon is known as apnoea caused by the amygdala. During this state, people hold their breath without even realizing it, which triggers a cascade of panic symptoms as the body tries to protect itself from suffocation.
This is part of the freeze response. Throughout evolution, humans have developed the ability to unconsciously hold their breath when they need to focus on survival.
Experts say that throughout the day, various types of triggers activate a person’s amygdala, simultaneously leading to breath-holding, increased CO₂ levels, and a complete imbalance in the chemoreceptor system, which plays a key role in the onset of panic attacks. Chemoreceptors are sensory cells that detect changes in blood composition and send information to the brain to maintain the balance of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
A sudden spike in CO₂ due to unintentional breath-holding during the day can be enough for chemoreceptors to send an alarm signal to the brain, triggering a panic attack.
How to Cope with Panic
While reducing your intake, exercising, and getting enough sleep can provide some support, most strategies for managing panic are not lifestyle-related but involve rethinking your thoughts.
Above all, researchers believe it’s essential to learn to breathe more evenly and mindfully. CO₂ levels should not be too high or too low. Both extremes can provoke anxiety.
According to researchers, the greatest danger for people who regularly experience panic is agoraphobia. Panic disorder with agoraphobia is a condition that individuals may unconsciously develop as they try to cope with panic. They tend to avoid situations they believe might trigger it and often blame circumstances, but this can lead to a restricted world.
On the flip side, being angry at yourself for feeling doesn’t improve the situation either. The goal isn’t to prevent all future attacks but to build self-confidence in stressful situations, experts say.
“Accepting physical sensations during panic is a therapeutic intervention. Develop a readiness to experience symptoms rather than avoid them. You can do this while shifting to the internal dialogue occurring in your mind,” noted Wilson.
According to experts, the mindset of “I can’t handle this” breeds anxiety and avoidance. The best approach is: “I don’t like this, but I can handle it.”
Photo: Openverse
