Here are some of the most common reasons which have been proven to cause panic attacks, along with some advice on each factor.

What Causes Panic Attacks - 1. Phobias. Almost all of us have a fear of something. While being exposed to the situation or object which causes us distress can often lead to no more than a mild feeling of discomfort in other cases it can lead to a sudden outbreak of sweating, dizziness and all the other classic symptoms of a full blown panic attack. While this may sound like an easy thing to recognise and avoid, people can pass years of suffering without linking the phobia with the anxiety attacks.

What Causes Panic Attacks -2. Medication. Some types of medicine come with a warning that panic attacks can be a short term side effect. If you are on medication and have started to suffer from these episodes since beginning the course it is well worth reading the indications on the packet and discussing the matter with your doctor.

What Causes Panic Attacks-3. Hereditary factors. This is one of the most difficult reasons for attacks of anxiety or panic for the sufferer to find out. Unless you are aware of previous instances of such episodes in your family then their occurrence can be a mystery. If you can’t work out a reason for your attacks it can be a good idea to speak to a trusted family member and find out if this is something which runs in the family or not.

What Causes Panic Attacks-4. Withdrawal symptoms. If you are coming off some sort of drug or alcohol dependency then it is very possible that you get the same feelings of light headedness, pounding heart and tight chest that is often associated with a panic attack.

What Causes Panic Attacks -5. Life changes. The loss of someone close to you, financial problems due to a drop in income and other changes in your life can cause sufficient stress and anxiety for you to begin to suffer anxiety attacks as a result. The good news is that identifying the root cause of the situation and remedying it one way or another should be enough for you to sort out the problem and lose the panic attacks forever.

What Causes Panic Attacks - 6. Passive personality. A passive person is generally polite and deferential when dealing with others. Modern studies seem to suggest that this inherent lack of assertiveness may be a contributory factor in a lot of sufferers. Speaking to a medical expert can be a good solution here, while hypnosis is a recommended way of gaining more assertiveness and sorting out the cause of the problem.

What Causes Panic Attacks -7. Hyperventilation syndrome. This is a breathing disorder which can lead to panic attacks. The sufferer feels as though they cannot get enough air into their system. It is usually caused by stress but can also be the result of a chemical imbalance in the person’s body. The biggest problem is that it is often seen purely as a symptom, when in reality it can be both a symptom and cause; sort of like a never ending circle of cause and effect which blends into one.

The first step you should consider taking is to think over your panic attacks and try to work out if any of the factors listed above is a recurring feature. You should at least be able eliminate a few of them from the equation on the first go. Once you work out the cause for your attacks finding the best way to solve them is going to be a lot easier.

Some common signs and symptoms of panic attacks:

Physical Symptoms Of a Panic Attack:
Immense or sudden sweating, Lightheadedness, Dizziness, Shakiness, tremor, trembling, Heart Palpitations, irregular heartbeat, Racing or pounding heart, Slow and pounding heart, Hyperventilation, Hot flashes, Chills, Fainting, Frequent Toilet Use, Insomnia, Chest pain, Nausea, stomach discomfort, Vertigo, Headaches, Choking sensations, Paresthesia (localized numbness), Itching or burning sensations, Exhaustion, Muscle spasms, Weakness, Grinding of the teeth, Ringing in the ears, Dry mouth

Mental Symptoms Of a Panic Attack:
Restlessness, Agoraphobia, Avoidance behavior, Feeling emotionally excluded, Fear of impending death or doom, Feeling of impaired vision, temporary blindness, Feeling like no one understands, Feeling like nothing is real, Loud internal dialogue, Irrational or racing thoughts, Loss of cognitive ability, Loss of the ability to react logically to external stimuli, Intense frightening realizations of reality, Nervousness, Fear of Losing Control, feeling out of control, feeling of going insane, Sense of Terror, Lack of Concentration, Claustrophobic feelings

Emotional Symptoms Symptoms Of a Panic Attack:

Fear of failure, fear of death, fear of living, fear of going insane, fear of losing control, fear of a serious illness, fear that the panic attack will not end, flashbacks to an earlier trigger, intense feeling of being scared, and inexplicable terror that something bad is about to happen and that you are powerless to do anything about it.

Perceptual Symptoms of a panic attack:

Perceptual symptoms include feeling that you have lost free will, tunnel vision, dissociation or depersonalization, heightened senses, dream-like sensations, and the apparent speeding up or slowing down of time.

We hope that you have found this list of symptoms useful, if you would like to read more about preventing anxiety attacks and panic attacks please check out the articles on our home page

Panic attacks will normally only last for a short period of time around 10 minutes if you have one.  However, sometimes you may find that some of the symptoms associated with such attacks may last for quite a bit longer.  Certainly once you have had one panic attack you are at a greater risk of suffering from others in the future.  For those who have to deal with panic attacks quite regularly then they are suffering from the condition which is referred to as Panic Disorder.

There are not only physical symptoms that a sufferer of panic attacks will have to deal with, but there are the mental ones as well.  Below we take a look at the symptoms of a panic attack which a sufferer needs to be aware so that they know when an attack is occurring.

1.  You may when you are having a panic attack feel dizzy and apprehensive.  Often you may find yourself panicking when there isn’t anything for you to panic about.  Sometimes the dizzy can lead to you feeling weak and in some cases if it becomes a severe attack you may faint.

2. Sometimes you may find it hard to breathe when an attack occurs as there seems to be some kind of restriction to your chest and may be your throat.  The constriction of the chest is often caused by your body trying to combat the surge of adrenalin within the body.

3. You will find that your heart rate is much faster than normal in order to try and pump more oxygen around the body.  Because your body is using up more oxygen then you find yourself beginning to hyperventilate (you are breathing much faster and deeper).  This is because your body is trying to get more oxygen into it in order to replace that which has been lost.

4. When you suffer a panic attack you may start to feel disassociated from the things around you.   Sometimes it can feel as you are moving away from things that are real or your vision becomes tunneled.  Although these kinds of symptoms are also associated with a person having a heartache one needs to be aware that when they occur with a panic attack they won’t hurt you. 

Although the symptoms of a panic attack may seem frightening to those who have them it is important for you to remember that the attack can be controlled.  The first thing to do when you feel that an attack is approaching is to start breathing very slowly and very deeply.  Even this can provide you with the ability to get the panic attack under control and you will hopefully begin to feel better shortly afterwards.