Why anxiety attack happens?

Have you ever had an anxiety attack? Do you know why it happened? Sometimes we are aware of what triggered our anxiety, which can make it easier to recover. However, there are times when the attack appears to come out of nowhere, and it can feel impossible to return to our baseline. There is always the possibility that an anxiety attack will have unexplained reasons; however, understanding what happens to the body will help recover. 

Anxiety

When we experience an anxiety attack, we feel an extreme sense of fear, worry, and tension in the body. There is a distinct difference between feeling anxious and suffering from anxiety. When we feel anxious, it is usually for a specific stressful situation and resolves once the stressful event is over. On the other hand, causes of anxiety can be something specific or general, and they can last for an extended period of time.  When we experience stress, the body releases adrenaline that leads to an anxiety attack. The adrenaline triggers the muscles to tighten, heart rate to increase as well as blood pressure. This activates the flight response in “Fight – or – Flight.”

Stress

Stress is the underlying culprit for anxiety. Our body views stress as a challenge or demand on us, and it reacts. It reacts with constant worrying, nervousness, racing thoughts, headaches, the inability to focus, and various other symptoms. All of these symptoms combined are what triggers our anxiety. When the stress becomes overwhelming or chronic, it may seem impossible to manage, and the body will stay on alert continuously. This will cause an anxiety attack because the body feels as though it is entirely out of control. 

Triggers

Triggers are another cause of an anxiety attack. Identifying and understanding the triggers of our anxiety attacks can reduce the number of attacks and teach us specific strategies to cope with them or prevent them. Triggers can be just about anything, such a smell, sound, memory, event, situation, and even a person. Some triggers are not easy to identify because they include a combination of several factors. The triggers cause the body and nervous system to react in the same manner as discussed earlier, which leads to an anxiety attack.