somebody who hadn’t had such a history.

Some numbers seem to suggest that, where it ‘runs in the family,’ you are twice as likely to suffer anxiety and panic attacks. On the other hand, there are many people who fall into this category who never suffer panic attacks.

At the heart of most, if not all, of the above is that, whatever the underlying condition, the person concerned is likely to have higher-than-normal levels of anxiety. And it usually only takes a relatively small increase in stress to trigger a panic attack.

Panic Attack Symptoms and the Fear of Panic Attacks

But let’s look at someone who already has had a panic attack. The symptoms; tightness in chest / throat, hyperventilation, sweating, palpitations, dizziness, tingling fingers, the real feeling of impending doom, are just so terrifying that they don’t want to experience those symptoms again. Perhaps this is you.

So this ‘fear’ of having another attack is imprinted on the psyche. The fear is then built on an already increased level of anxiety, so that all it takes is a relatively small increase in stress to trigger a panic attack.

Basically you are in a vicious cycle of anxiety that goes something like this: anxiety > fear > panic attack > anxiety > fear > panic attack, etc. And as long as this psychological fear of another attack persists, you are more likely to have such an attack and keep on having them. You need to break the cycle of anxiety to prevent further attacks and to then cure your general anxiety.

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