What physiological changes happen during a panic attack?
A panic attack is a type of fight or flight response, which is an inborn, genetic response that we have to protect ourselves when we are in immediate danger. It’s a surge of adrenaline, giving us strength to protect ourselves by fighting/fleeing a dangerous situation. A panic attack can be triggered by many things and without warning. Also, logic may tell the sufferer that there is no present danger, which can cause even more anxiety, creating a feeling of ‘invisible’ danger. The physical feelings coupled with the fear of being in immediate danger can certainly give the feeling of impending death and doom, as also described by the previous poster, Steve.
The reason your body undergoes so many changes during a panic attack is that the sympathetic part of the nervous system is upregulated, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system (the one that is normally the dominant one) takes a step backwards. The so called “fight or flight” response is triggered by the sudden increase in sympathetic nervous system activity, but this occurs in panic attacks at inopportune moments. You can see why such a response would be important if you were being chased by a tiger, but not so much if you’ve just got on to a bus. The sympathetic nervous system activation causes a mass release of adrenaline into the bloodstream. Adrenaline (or epinephrine for our US friends) is a hormone that has effects on many different tissues of the body. On the heart, it causes it to beat faster and stronger (hence why you hear docs on ER asking for an ounce of “epi” when the patients heart is on the way out. This causes more bloodflow to reach the muscles, in order to allow yo
