Panic Attack Treatment - What Really Happens in the Brain?
In the journal Science (2007), The University College London published their findings on brain activity during a panic attack.
What they found is that during a panic episode, brain activities move from the front of the brain to the mid brain.
Their study included scans that showed increased blood flow to the area of the brain that was most active.
The prefrontal cortex (the front of the brain) is associated with decision making and keeping yourself rational.
The periaqueductal grey area (the midbrain) is where survival mechanisms originate.
It is believed that the midbrain is where the "fight or flight" mechanism originates.
Most people who have tried to find information on panic attacks realize that "fight or flight" is one of the major issues in suffering from a panic attack.
This goes back to the early days of man when fight or flight meant the difference between life and death when faced with a serious threat.
The University College London study showed that people who suffer from anxiety attacks literally have this "fight or flight" mechanism kick in and it takes over all rational thought.
In short, the midbrain becomes more active during a panic attack.
People who suffer from panic occurrences realize that once an episode begins, it is very difficult to calm down.
The study suggests that if a person wants to get back to rational thought, they must find a way to change the brain activity.
This is one of the reasons that explains why doing things such as deep breathing is very ineffective.
All deep breathing does is try to calm the body, but it does not address the brain activity.
Once the person is in a panic mode, deep breathing does not seem to help very often.
In my personal opinion (I am NOT a doctor, just someone who is dedicated to researching), it appears that if you want to get control over panic attacks you need to be able to understand a technique that will get your brain activity back to normal.
In other words, you must be able to convince yourself that you are "safe".
This is no easy task for most.
There is more information in my links below that I believe will be able to help many people learn how to move their brain activity back to the prefrontal cortex where it belongs.
What they found is that during a panic episode, brain activities move from the front of the brain to the mid brain.
Their study included scans that showed increased blood flow to the area of the brain that was most active.
The prefrontal cortex (the front of the brain) is associated with decision making and keeping yourself rational.
The periaqueductal grey area (the midbrain) is where survival mechanisms originate.
It is believed that the midbrain is where the "fight or flight" mechanism originates.
Most people who have tried to find information on panic attacks realize that "fight or flight" is one of the major issues in suffering from a panic attack.
This goes back to the early days of man when fight or flight meant the difference between life and death when faced with a serious threat.
The University College London study showed that people who suffer from anxiety attacks literally have this "fight or flight" mechanism kick in and it takes over all rational thought.
In short, the midbrain becomes more active during a panic attack.
People who suffer from panic occurrences realize that once an episode begins, it is very difficult to calm down.
The study suggests that if a person wants to get back to rational thought, they must find a way to change the brain activity.
This is one of the reasons that explains why doing things such as deep breathing is very ineffective.
All deep breathing does is try to calm the body, but it does not address the brain activity.
Once the person is in a panic mode, deep breathing does not seem to help very often.
In my personal opinion (I am NOT a doctor, just someone who is dedicated to researching), it appears that if you want to get control over panic attacks you need to be able to understand a technique that will get your brain activity back to normal.
In other words, you must be able to convince yourself that you are "safe".
This is no easy task for most.
There is more information in my links below that I believe will be able to help many people learn how to move their brain activity back to the prefrontal cortex where it belongs.
Source...