Biological Causes Of Panic Disorder
The numerous physical symptoms of a panic attack are extremely intense and debilitating. They include but are not limited to: heart palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, chocking sensation, nausea, and dizziness. These symptoms are accompanied by the psychological sensations of fear, detachment from ones surroundings and paranoia. These symptoms seem to appear out of nowhere and can occur anywhere, which creates extreme anxiety before during and after the attack. It is quite common for a person to have a single panic attack in a time of great stress or fear, however when an individual has repeated attacks it could indicate panic disorder. Laura Freberg, states that panic disorder occurs “when repeated panic attacks are followed by at least one month of worrying about having another attack.” There are many theories regarding the causes of panic disorder. Including genetic variations, uncontrollable breathing habits, and stressful life changes. Typically, individuals with panic disorder report their attacks to have no obvious cause. This makes studying panic
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disorder particularly difficult because it’s impossible to predict a natural panic attack. Thankfully, researchers have found that it is possible to induce a panic attack using a variety of chemicals. The most effective are sodium lactate and carbon dioxide. These two substances lower the pH of the brain making it a more acidic environment. This finding inspired John A Wemmie’s study of, pH effects on the brain and how a lower pH in the brain relates to panic. Wemmie found that a person with panic disorder tends to have a genetic variation, which causes the brains to store an abundance of lactic acid during everyday activities. The lower pH of the brain creates a more acidic environment which induces panic attacks. The extra lactic acid affects the functionality of the homeostatic pH buffering system in the brain causing it to lose functionality and creates the psychological experience of panic.
Irregular breathing also causes lactic acid build up to occur in the brain.
This could explain why panic disorder is linked with depression and other anxiety disorders because the individuals who suffer from these disorders are more likely to hyperventilate and sigh more frequently than the average person. Chronic irregular breathing creates more carbon dioxide in the body, which lowers pH. The individuals who exhibit irregular breathing in everyday life are more likely to show respiratory symptoms during a panic attack, which suggests that the excess carbon dioxide in the body could potentially be causing the attack. Therefore, what seems to be a sudden attack may just be a result of higher carbon dioxide in the body. This explains why learning to control breathing is frequently suggested as a part of treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders along with panic
disorder.
Along with depression and anxiety many people who suffer from panic disorder frequently suffer from respiratory and muscular abnormalities at the same time. These abnormalities play a large role in the response to lactic acid in the body. Naturally, lactic acid is stored in the muscles and released during exercise. When an individual has panic disorder, an abundance of lactic acid is produced during everyday activities and cannot all be stored in the muscles. The lactic can overflow into the brain and induces panic attacks. However, since exercise releases lactic acid people who suffer from panic disorder are frequently advised to partake in regular exercise routines. This strategy releases more lactic acid therefore increases the pH of the brain and allowing for fewer panic attacks to occur.
There are numerous biological causes of panic attacks even though the victims have no way of predicting them. These causes stem from genetics, stress, and the chemistry of the brain. This has been found in the attempts to induce panics attacks for research purposes. Studies have found that within panic disorder sufferers lactic acid and carbon dioxide build up are the most significant causes of panics attacks. This shows how significantly our brain compositions can affect our everyday lives.
disorder particularly difficult because it’s impossible to predict a natural panic attack. Thankfully, researchers have found that it is possible to induce a panic attack using a variety of chemicals. The most effective are sodium lactate and carbon dioxide. These two substances lower the pH of the brain making it a more acidic environment. This finding inspired John A Wemmie’s study of, pH effects on the brain and how a lower pH in the brain relates to panic. Wemmie found that a person with panic disorder tends to have a genetic variation, which causes the brains to store an abundance of lactic acid during everyday activities. The lower pH of the brain creates a more acidic environment which induces panic attacks. The extra lactic acid affects the functionality of the homeostatic pH buffering system in the brain causing it to lose functionality and creates the psychological experience of panic.
Irregular breathing also causes lactic acid build up to occur in the brain.
This could explain why panic disorder is linked with depression and other anxiety disorders because the individuals who suffer from these disorders are more likely to hyperventilate and sigh more frequently than the average person. Chronic irregular breathing creates more carbon dioxide in the body, which lowers pH. The individuals who exhibit irregular breathing in everyday life are more likely to show respiratory symptoms during a panic attack, which suggests that the excess carbon dioxide in the body could potentially be causing the attack. Therefore, what seems to be a sudden attack may just be a result of higher carbon dioxide in the body. This explains why learning to control breathing is frequently suggested as a part of treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders along with panic
disorder.
Along with depression and anxiety many people who suffer from panic disorder frequently suffer from respiratory and muscular abnormalities at the same time. These abnormalities play a large role in the response to lactic acid in the body. Naturally, lactic acid is stored in the muscles and released during exercise. When an individual has panic disorder, an abundance of lactic acid is produced during everyday activities and cannot all be stored in the muscles. The lactic can overflow into the brain and induces panic attacks. However, since exercise releases lactic acid people who suffer from panic disorder are frequently advised to partake in regular exercise routines. This strategy releases more lactic acid therefore increases the pH of the brain and allowing for fewer panic attacks to occur.
There are numerous biological causes of panic attacks even though the victims have no way of predicting them. These causes stem from genetics, stress, and the chemistry of the brain. This has been found in the attempts to induce panics attacks for research purposes. Studies have found that within panic disorder sufferers lactic acid and carbon dioxide build up are the most significant causes of panics attacks. This shows how significantly our brain compositions can affect our everyday lives.