subject: What Causes Anxiety Attacks? [print this page] As hard as it is to believe, anxiety attacks can be caused by almost anything and also by nothing! You may want to reread that because we all want a concrete reason why anxiety attacks happen. If we have a concrete reason, we feel we can begin to take control. In most cases of anxiety attacks, the person having the attack rarely reports any event that would have triggered the onset of the attack itself. We may not like it but it makes sense because as anyone who suffers from anxiety attacks knows, you feel a permanent state of worry and nervousness with no logical reason.
Now with that said, one of the great fears of someone who suffers from anxiety attacks is the fear of another attack. When someone who has had an attack returns to a situation or setting where a previous anxiety attack happened, it is very likely to trigger another attack. In other words, the fear of another attack triggers another attack. The more terrifying the first attack was, the more likely another attack will occur. It is a vicious cycle of fear.
What is the greatest fear of someone who suffers from anxiety attacks? The greatest fear is to have another attack! Even thought you know that the anxiety attack will not kill you, it can certainly feel like you may be dying. Hopefully this is beginning to make a little more sense to you now
So in reality the greatest determiner of when or if you have an anxiety attack is also your greatest ally. It is your mind. As an anxiety attack sufferer, you know that your attacks are rarely caused by factual incidents. Even though you know that to be true, you do not want someone to tell you that it is all in your mind. This only makes matters worse for you.
To be more clinical about anxiety attacks, it is in fact all in your mind. This is because the brain is where all your anxiety stems from. Specifically, anxiety comes from a part of the brain known as the amygdala. Normally it does a great job but in anxiety sufferers your amygdala becomes set at a higher level. This higher level causes adrenalin to be released. The adrenalin triggers fight or flight feelings which lead to anxiety attacks.
This is where the Linden Method focuses. The only cure for anxiety attacks is to reset your amygdala. Anxiety is a normal reaction in a fight or flight situation. When the situation normalizes, anxiety should disappear. For someone with an anxiety attack disorder, the anxiety does not disappear. The increased anxiety actually begins to cause more anxiety. The Linden Method breaks the cycle by reprogramming your mind.
