Can you die from a Panic Attack?

Panic attacks can be very intense experiences, and some people fear that they might die during them. This fear can increase even more the anxiety experienced and worsen the panic attack. The fear of dying is a very common symptom in panic attacks, so to dispel all concern, the quick answer is no; you can not die of a panic attack.

Before getting into the matter, let's clear up some myths. You can't die from a panic attack, you can't have a heart attack, you can't drown. Fainting is also very unlikely, as blood pressure rises and fainting is usually caused by drops in pressure. In this article we are going to talk about what panic attacks are, what causes them and what we can do when we experience one, as well as explaining in more detail why you can't die from a seizure panic. We hope it helps you understand anxiety and learn how to act in these intense cases.

What is a panic attack?

A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear and anxiety, causing severe physical reactions. Many people only experience panic attacks once or twice in their lives, and the problem usually goes away when a stressful or anxiety-provoking situation is resolved. Panic attacks themselves are not life-threatening, but they can be very scary and, when prolonged, significantly affect your quality of life.

Panic attacks usually start suddenly, with no indicators or warnings of their presence. Furthermore, they can appear at any time; driving your car, at the movies, while you sleep or in a work meeting. Panic attacks have been classified as occasional or frequent.

Among the main symptoms are the sensation of imminent danger, fear of losing control or death, presence of tachycardia and palpitations, sweating, tremors, nausea, tightness in the throat, pain in the chest and head, dizziness... What is considered the worst aspect of panic attacks is the intense fear that they will return. appear; this can cause you to start avoiding situations or places where you feel it might happen to you.

It is important to differentiate panic attacks from panic disorder. This is diagnosed when, after a panic attack, it is followed by persistent concern about suffering another attack or the development of behaviors that avoid the possibility of these attacks; both prolonged for more than a month.

• Related article: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

Why do panic attacks occur?

Experts fail to come up with a specific cause for panic attacks. There are many factors to take into account whenever we talk about symptoms related to mental health. They can influence genetics, high levels or episodes of stress, have a more sensitive character to stress or that is prone to negative emotions or even structural or physiological changes in functioning cerebral.

The body generates natural reactions and responses to stress or danger; your heart races, you breathe faster and you get a burst of energy. This is what is known as the fight or flight response, it prepares us to face or flee from danger. In panic attacks this response occurs when there is no danger.

Among other causes, panic attacks can also appear due to heart or respiratory problems, depression or other mood disorders, alcohol or other substance abuse, or use of certain medicines. The reasons that most often resonate with people who experience panic attacks is the presence of stress in different aspects of life and in a prolonged way for a long time, or the fear of having another panic attack after experiencing it once.

• You may be interested in: "The 5 differences between anxiety and heart problems"

What happens in our body during panic attacks?

To understand the symptoms of panic attacks described above and reaffirm that a panic attack does not can kill, we will review the physiological and psychological reactions of our body when experiencing an attack of panic.

As we have seen, panic attacks usually start suddenly. It may be starting to feel something unpleasant, such as a rapid heart rate, followed by attempts to for repressing it, either because you don't like to feel it or because your fear of having a seizure attack has been activated. panic.

1. Control uncontrolls us

These attempts to control unpleasant sensations, which usually occur unconsciously, fail. So the more you try to reactivate this control, the more you lose, so this feeling increases; for example, increased respiratory rate. This response is the first physiological reaction of the organism in stressful situations, unconsciously and without organic need for it.

The increase in respiratory rate reduces the reserves of carbon dioxide, a compound that flows from the blood to the alveoli to be eliminated by the lungs. Basically, an acid-base imbalance is generated at the blood level and the organism activates different mechanisms to protect itself and return to balance. These mechanisms include constriction of blood vessels and bronchospasm, an abnormal contraction of the muscle that lines the bronchi. This is what causes the classic symptoms of a panic attack: chest pain, shortness of breath, feelings of fainting...

• Related article: "What is fear? Characteristics of this emotion"

2. a vicious circle

If we were not aware of our body's physiological reactions, panic attacks would not happen because organisms would rebalance and we would not realize. Realizing this physiological reaction and suffering its effects is what makes us, once again, try to block or control them without success.

Failing to block these very negative sensations produces even more agitation and, the more fear is experienced, the more the body needs to restore its balance. This is what makes for a peak anxiety attack.

3. Activation of the parasympathetic system

All these physiological reactions that we have discussed refer to the activation of the sympathetic system, a division of the Nervous System Autonomous that is involved in the expenditure of energy during stress or emergency situations, producing the previously mentioned fight response or flight. This activation also produces the secretion of hormones such as cortisol or adrenaline, which facilitate adaptation to the physiological response that our body experiences.

4. end of panic attack

Panic attacks typically last less than 30 minutes; Just as they have a beginning, they also have an end. Usually, the peak of anxiety that will be experienced in a panic attack occurs approximately 10 minutes after it begins. Another myth to disprove is that panic attacks can last for days; This is not true, but it is normal that during its prolongation you have feelings related to fear to last forever, which feeds back all this physiological response and anxiety experienced.

Basically, this fight or flight response has a set duration, and when the body achieves the physiological balance that it was looking for, the panic attack ends as well. It is normal that when it is over you have feelings of tiredness, anxiety or fragility.

And it is that the panic attack ends, but the fear or anxiety produced does not. It is then that the fear of experiencing it again can occur, associating the possibility of suffering it with different stimuli, places or even people.

How are panic attacks treated?

The psychological treatment that is normally presented as the most effective in the case of panic attacks falls within the current cognitive-behavioral therapy. Through this therapy and following techniques such as exposure, people who suffer from these attacks can learn to gradually expose themselves to these associated environments. with the panic attack, in order to abandon avoidance strategies or behaviors and return to living a normal life and moving away from the fear of suffering panic attacks. panic.

You can't die from a panic attack.

In conclusion to the initial question: no, we cannot die from a panic attack. As we have seen, panic attacks are physiological reactions with a definite beginning and end and once they have started, it is difficult to avoid or control them without prior therapeutic background.

If you have previously had panic attacks and are developing fear of experiencing them again or avoidance behaviors to stimuli that you have related to them, the best recommendation we can make is to resort to counseling psychological. Through therapy and the techniques that you can put into practice, you will learn to expose yourself to these situations, to avoid fear and even techniques of relaxation that can help you avoid the appearance of the panic attack reaction when you find yourself in situations that you feel may Activate.