When we are anxious, we experience a constant sense of being alert. Panic is the same but taken to the extreme: the body goes into a “fight-or-fly” mode as if it does for a life-threat, and in order to be ready for an immediate response, heart and breath rate are intensely accelerated, the thermo-regulation is altered, and the digestions blocked, or, on the opposite it might go into a shutting off modality as if it was pretending to be dead.
The physical sensations of a panic attack are experienced with terror, and because nothing seems to justify such a reaction, a panic attack can be even more frightening when it’s not recognised as such, and who experiences it might be afraid of dying, or of getting crazy, or even dissociate from the body as in another dimension.
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If you’ve lately experienced a panic attack, it means there is something in your life that is dramatically taking away your certainties and your personal stability, Psychotherapy and counselling may help you make sense of what’s happening and help you to cope with any attacks that you might experience in the future.