Scientific data shows that our brain is not designed for happiness. Our brain is designed to keep us alive. Death is one of our fundamental fears. We never want to die, we want to live forever. There are two defense mechanisms that keep us alive. The first of these is the threat and defense mechanism. If we are faced with any danger, our defense system, which is the mechanism that keeps us alive, is activated and does three things to keep us alive;
-If you have enough strength to fight, you fight
-If you have enough time to escape, you run away
- If you do not have enough strength to fight and enough time to escape, you will freeze. Since ancient times, the human mind has tried to find ways to survive by transferring knowledge to other generations. In ancient times, when people were fighting wild animals in the forest, running away from wild animals, or freezing and pretending to die when they saw a wild animal, this information was passed down to us from generation to generation. Even though there is no external threat to us in today's conditions, the working system of our brain continues in the same way. When we adapt this to today's conditions, for example, when you see a car coming towards you at speed, we choose to run away if we have time because we do not have the strength to resist the car. is the fear. When a person has a panic attack, he fears that he will die. This fear is not the fear of death, but the fear of being killed. If a person is exposed to the emotional threat of being killed in the mental environment he is in, our brain makes many changes in our body in order to survive. Actually panic attack; It is the preparation of a person for a physical attack without a physical attack. Our brain tends to show the same symptoms against emotional attacks as it does against physical attacks.
PANIC ATTACK SYMPTOMS;
During a panic attack, some symptoms occur in our body because our body is programmed to fight or escape. Our sympathetic nervous system comes into play and our body begins to secrete adrenaline and cortisol hormones. Adrenaline is a hormone secreted in times of danger. ten. When adrenaline is secreted, the following symptoms occur; the heart sends blood to the brain and muscles
• our blood pressure increases
• we experience palpitations
While these are happening, we begin to breathe rapidly. As we breathe faster, our air hunger increases. Our need for oxygen increases. A person who breathes rapidly for a long time will experience contractions in their hands, which is also a physical consequence of the decrease in calcium in the body. While all the physical symptoms are happening, this is often the part that scares the person the most. As the hands contract, the fear of being paralyzed or dying increases. It is very normal to experience these during a panic attack. While everything that happens physically is real, there is no real danger of death.
The important point here is this. This mechanism does not only come into play when we are faced with a physical attack. Our threat and defense mechanisms also come into play when we face an emotional attack. Those who experience a panic attack crisis are afraid of an emotional attack.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE PANIC ATTACK CRISIS IS OVER;
Our sympathetic nervous system, which is activated during a panic attack, causes many changes in our body. Adrenaline is primarily secreted in the body. If the person does not spend this adrenaline, which is most of the time when a panic attack occurs while the person is sitting or standing still, then since that adrenaline is not spent, that energy causes an intense energy shake within the person. If a person moves fast or runs during a panic attack, for example, adrenaline does not remain in the person. When adrenaline is not consumed as energy, that is, when the person remains motionless during a panic attack, the person experiences weakness, fatigue, dizziness, headache, and the need to lie down as the blood pressure drops.
THINGS TO DO DURING A PANIC ATTACK;
• Mind wandering; For example, focusing on the finger and looking at the lines on the finger. Your mind cannot focus on two things at the same time.
• Focusing on the breath; Focusing on breathing is another thing you can do during a crisis. is behavior.
• EFT; Constantly repeating the emotion one is experiencing is another behavior that can be done during a panic attack. So, I'm afraid of being killed, I'm afraid of being killed... etc.
REASONS OF PANIC ATTACKS
Preoedipal Reasons
Panic Attack has a connection with childhood experiences. There are two main reasons for panic attacks. First, there is a parent or caregiver in the family who is panicking. The child identifies with this person who causes panic in the family. So he imitates this person. People who have panic attacks are often people who move very quickly in their normal lives. They walk fast, eat fast, make love fast. The person may have seen this from a parent or caregiver (mother, father, aunt, grandmother, aunt, etc.) in childhood.
Oedipal Reasons
Another reason is Oedipal reasons. In other words, a person falls in love with his mother or father during his childhood, which we call the oedipal period, between the ages of 3-6. As the child discovers the opposite sex, he tries to get his parents' approval. For example, when a boy grows up in this period, he dreams of marrying his mother. This is a temporary and normal thing for this period. While the child has these dreams, he is also afraid of his rival, his father. He thinks that if he marries his mother, his father will be angry with him. It is dangerous for the father to get angry, that is, if the father gets angry, he can kill the child. People with panic attack disease carry the fear they experienced in their childhood into their adult lives. If they like a woman outside, they are afraid that the father will punish or kill her.
HUMAN IS A BEING THAT CAN SOOTH HIMSELF;
The second mechanism that keeps us alive is our soothing and caring mechanism. Humans are the mammals that need the longest care to survive. If the baby is not given care when it is born, the baby cannot care for itself. Studies have shown that babies who are not touched apart from physical care cannot survive and die. In other words, humans need both physical and emotional care from the moment they are born. When the baby cries, the parent meets the baby's needs. For example, if the baby cries because he is hungry and hurts, the mother gives him the breast and the baby calms down. During the process, when the baby gets a little older, if there is any damage to his body, for example when his finger is burned, the mother kisses the baby's finger, caresses the baby and tries to relieve the pain. When children fall, they run to their mothers and wait for the mother to relieve the child's pain. After a while, the child learns to self-soothe. The child begins to provide the care that the mother provides to the child on his own. When he falls, he touches his own knee and begins to relieve the pain of his own wound.
PANIC ATTACK TREATMENT;
The biggest fear of most panic attack patients is the fear of having a panic attack again. It is possible to treat panic attacks with psychotherapy techniques. In therapy, the primary cause of the panic attack is found and the client is made aware of it. With awareness, the client learns to make sense of and control his emotions in the process. Our minds worry about confusion, understanding their emotions and learning to self-interpret them makes the client's life outside more comfortable and less anxious.
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