Epinephrine is just one chemical involved in your body's response to anxiety. Other chemicals may also play a role. For example, a serotonin imbalance¹ may contribute to anxiety, as can high cortisol levels. However, epinephrine is the primary chemical because it is directly involved in your anxiety symptoms.
Therefore, panic disorder can be difficult to recognize, and many sufferers go untreated. But treatment is available, and it's the only way to beat the disorder. As with other mental illnesses, panic disorder is believed to be caused by both chemical imbalances in the brain and genetic predisposition.
Chemicals believed to cause anxiety include serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is largely associated with mood, sleep, appetite, and other regulatory functions.
The Amygdala houses the “fight or flight” response and a part of the “emotional” side of the brain. It is thought those suffering from a panic disorder experience an overactive Amygdala, characterized by an intense fear of something taking over the senses.
But researchers don't know exactly what causes anxiety disorders. They suspect a combination of factors plays a role: Chemical imbalance: Severe or long-lasting stress can change the chemical balance that controls your mood. Experiencing a lot of stress over a long period can lead to an anxiety disorder.
Low serotonin levels are well-recognized by the medical community as a primary cause of panic attacks, depression and other signs of anxiety in women. And, women are much more likely to suffer from serotonin deficiency than men.
Lack of enough serotonin is thought to play a role in depression, anxiety, mania and other health conditions.
Scientists are still studying how panic attacks affect the brain. It's possible that the parts of the brain that are tied to fear become more active during an episode. One recent study found that people with panic disorder had lots of activity in a part of their brains tied to the “fight or flight” response.
Biological theories suggest that defects in an individual's autonomic nervous system are potential causes for the development of panic disorder. Such defects in the autonomic nervous system result in hypersensitivity, increased arousal and chemical imbalance which can lead to panic attacks.
It should be noted that the statement "it's all in your head" is not entirely wrong. Psychiatric distress often manifests physically. Anxiety begins in the brain, but it manifests as various symptoms.
Psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a research-supported type of psychotherapy, is commonly used to treat panic disorder. CBT teaches you different ways of thinking, behaving, and reacting to the feelings that happen during or before a panic attack.
These amines and toxins can trigger neurotransmitter sites in the brain to malfunction causing feelings of excessive tiredness, depression, anxiety and/or panic attacks.
Anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines) such as Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam), or Klonopin (clonazepam), work because they target GABA receptors in the brain. These medications enhance the function of GABA resulting in a calm and relaxed state.
Panic Attacks. A panic attack is not the same as a nervous breakdown, but it is very similar with symptoms that overlap. Multiple panic attacks may lead to a diagnosis of panic disorder, a type of anxiety disorder. Some people may have just one panic attack, and this is not considered a diagnosable anxiety disorder.
Left untreated, panic disorder can become a very debilitating and isolating illness. It can also increase your risk of developing other mental health conditions, such as agoraphobia or other phobias.
Panic attacks and psychosis are two different occurrences. Panic attacks occur randomly or due to intense fear, while psychosis is a symptom of an underlying mental health condition. While it's possible they can occur together; they do not have to be directly related to each other.
Triggers for panic attacks can include overbreathing, long periods of stress, activities that lead to intense physical reactions (for example exercise, excessive coffee drinking) and physical changes occurring after illness or a sudden change of environment.
Although some people with schizophrenia suffer anxiety, it is impossible for people with anxiety disorders to develop schizophrenia as a result of their anxiety disorder. Anxiety sufferers should be reassured that they cannot develop schizophrenia as part of their anxiety state, no matter how bad the anxiety becomes.
We know that trauma can cause panic attacks. One of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder is panic attacks when faced with trauma triggers. But can panic attacks also be their own type of trauma? There's no clear answer to this, but there are reasons to think the answer is yes.
Even though there is not a cure for panic disorder, you can still experience long-term improvements by finding the combination of treatments that is effective for you. Otte C. Cognitive behavioral therapy in anxiety disorders: Current state of the evidence. Dialogues Clin Neurosci.
Across individual SSRIs, sertraline and escitalopram were identified as the most efficacious agents with low risk of adverse events. The researchers also evaluated included studies for risk of bias, and they noted that "[t]he findings were...
Researchers have linked low levels of serotonin with mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
SSRIs are thought to improve mood by boosting serotonin activity in the brain. But serotonin is not always a bed of roses. In the early days of treatment, it can increase levels of fear and anxiety and even suicidal thinking in some younger people.
Unfortunately, hormones and anxiety can be a bit of a chicken and an egg situation. Hormonal imbalances may cause anxiety in some people and be the result of increased anxiety in others.