What Are the Main Causes of Anxiety Attacks

The causes of anxiety attacks are numerous

The causes of anxiety attacks are numerous. In the US, the National Institute of Mental Health has been investigating what causes these attacks. Their findings have proven to be detrimental.

According to the NIMH the causes can be summed up to four sources: genetics, brain malfunction, biochemical abnormalities, and environmental stress.

Genetics. Numerous clinical investigations regarding anxiety disorders have found out that genetics play a major role as to which persons will be afflicted by this disorder. If one or both parents are known to have this disorder, then there is a good chance that anxiety disorder may be passed down to their offspring. This finding would underpin the belief that mental illnesses aren't hereditary.

Brain Malfunction. It was also discovered by researchers that certain parts of the brain responsible for organizing whatever data the body receives from external stimuli become over reactive when exposed to certain kinds of stimuli. This malfunction gives rise to anxiety attacks. To discover this fact, the researchers did some experiments. The researchers tried to induce panic attacks to their research subjects by deliberately exposing them to stimuli that are known to cause anxiety. One experiment they did was dosing the research subjects with large amounts of caffeine. It was found out that the substance (caffeine) indeed caused anxiety attacks to the subjects who were known to have bouts of anxiety, though the severity of the induced attacks were somewhat milder because the subjects knew that they were given caffeine. Caffeine was used because it is known to give adverse effects on people's brains, causing a temporary imbalance.

Biochemical Abnormalities. Another part of the research done was to deliberately give doses of sodium lactate to the test subjects. Sodium lactate is a naturally-produced chemical by the body that builds up in the muscles during heavy exercise. It was found out that this was able to induce anxiety attacks. Because lactic acid is used as a preservative in most dairy products being sold today it may be a factor in creating the biochemical abnormality which is one of the causes of panic attacks. Another chemical that was found out to upset the chemical balance in the body is carbon dioxide. This is why when people hyperventilate they would usually have an anxiety attack too.

Environmental Stresses. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the most well known of the causes of anxiety attacks. PTSD is caused by a particularly traumatic event that occurred to a person. Soldiers who returned home after coming from a warzone are the ones that are most prone to have this mental disorder. It was also seen to manifest in people who have survived a natural disaster. Phobias can also induce anxiety attacks to people. When exposed to what object or situation they fear the most the person would naturally have an anxiety attack.

Though these may seem a bit broad and unspecific, the things listed above do cover most of the common causes of anxiety attacks in people.

What Are the Main Causes of Anxiety Attacks

By: Jared D. Ingram

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