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Panic attacks can feel sudden, confusing, and overwhelming especially when your body feels unsafe even when your mind is trying to stay calm.
But panic is often more than “just anxiety.” It can be connected to unresolved stress, grief, trauma, emotional overwhelm, and a nervous system stuck in survival mode.
This episode explores why panic attacks feel so intense in the body and what may be happening underneath the surface.
Watch the full episode here:
https://youtu.be/i2DuFgvHkP0
#PanicAttacks #AnxietyAwareness #HealthAnxiety #EMDRTherapy #TraumaHealing
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0:00
So many people get confused by the
0:02
origin and how they are developed. They
0:04
can feel really terrifying and confusing
0:07
and deeply isolating when you're in it.
0:10
Panic attacks often show up out of
0:12
nowhere and seemingly with no triggers
0:14
or stimulus that can give you
0:16
information about why you're having
0:17
them. But your heart races, your chest
0:20
tightens, your breath can feel shallow,
0:23
you might even feel dizzy or
0:24
disconnected and convinced something
0:26
terrible is about to happen. And most
0:28
people are told some version of this.
0:31
That's anxiety. That's fear. Your fight
0:33
or flight is misfiring. But here's what
0:35
I want you to know right away. Panic is
0:38
not the same thing as fear. And even
0:40
therapists really get this confused
0:42
often. And understanding that difference
0:44
changes everything, including how we
0:46
treat it and what kind of support you
0:48
need to look for. Today, we're going to
0:50
explore panic attacks through a
0:52
different lens. One that includes
0:53
neuroscience, grief, attachment, and
0:56
trauma. We're going to talk about why
0:58
panic is often misunderstood as fear.
1:01
Panic is part of the panic and grief or
1:03
loss system according to Yak Pinkep. And
1:06
this understanding changed the way that
1:08
I view this with my case load so
1:12
drastically. How panic attacks
1:14
frequently trace back to loss and
1:16
separation is really common. And when we
1:18
start to ask our clients, when did you
1:20
have your first panic attack or when do
1:22
you remember your panic attack starting
1:24
and what was happening in your life
1:26
around that time? We almost always hear
1:29
something related to loss. Panic attacks
1:32
are really common and we're going to
1:34
talk about what keeps panic looping in
1:36
the body. We're also going to talk a
1:38
little bit about how EMDR can be
1:40
especially effective when panic is
1:41
rooted in past experiences.
1:44
So let's break it down a little bit more
1:46
uh deeply. Panic is not fear. There are
1:49
two different systems. Most people
1:52
assume panic attacks are part of the
1:54
fear system. And it does make sense
1:56
because it feels so scary. Panic is
1:58
frightening. But neurologically panic
2:01
and fear come from different emotional
2:02
systems or circuits. According to the
2:05
affective neuroscientist Yak Pinkep, the
2:08
fear system activates when we are facing
2:10
external danger. Think about the little
2:13
fear guy on Inside Out. It's like he
2:15
doesn't want Riley to put something in
2:16
the light socket or she could be in
2:18
danger. It's about threat. It's about
2:21
predictors of threat, accidents, or
2:23
immediate harm. The panic or grief
2:26
system, on the other hand, activates in
2:28
response to loss, separation, or threat
2:30
to loss of connection. This system
2:33
originally evolved in mammals to ensure
2:36
survival through attachment. When we as
2:38
humans are infants and we're separated
2:41
from our caregivers, this system turns
2:42
on and it signals distress or protest or
2:46
desperation to restore that connection.
2:48
And in adults, especially if the history
2:52
precluded attachment rupture or loss,
2:54
the system can get activated. And so if
2:58
you have history of loss like divorce or
3:00
separation with your parents or the loss
3:03
uh through death or someone who was just
3:05
really lacking in emotional availability
3:07
or moved away that you relied upon then
3:09
as an adult you're more likely to be
3:12
impacted or affected by these activation
3:15
or activating events that happen in our
3:17
lives like for example when a
3:18
relationship ends or if a loved one dies
3:21
or if a sense of safety collapses in
3:24
that loss or if attachment bonds are
3:26
threatened. threatened to be ceased.
3:28
Grief has not been fully integrated
3:30
because of a loss that has happened. So
3:33
remember, fear says I'm in danger where
3:35
panic says I've lost something that's
3:37
essential. So seen through this lens of
3:40
panic being part of the grief circuit.
3:42
Panic attacks are not rand, they're
3:45
grief alarms. The panic or grief system
3:48
is activated not to protect us from
3:50
predators but to protect us from being
3:52
alone or unsafe or disconnected in the
3:56
world. These conditions especially when
3:58
we were small meant death. We rely on
4:01
our caregivers to survive. This is also
4:03
why like children in orphanages who were
4:07
fed and they were cared for sometimes
4:09
just fain and die. They are completely
4:12
shutting down because they don't believe
4:15
that they have a chance to live because
4:17
they're not held or cared for enough
4:19
with the connection and nurture that we
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