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Understanding the real causes of panic attacks is essential, if you want to be successful in treating them. As the famous saying goes – know your enemy. In this article we’ll try to shed some light on it and help you understand a bit more about this very common disorder.

So what are panic attacks? They are part of our instinctive biological response usually called the fight or flight response. This is our body’s innate alarm system. It’s there to protect us. What is important to understand at this point is that it’s very complex.

Because this response uses a wide range of very basic physiological and psychological mechanisms it’s practically impossible to just turn it off. But this is actually not a problem here. The alarm itself is not a real problem, the problem is in its oversensitivity. That is what causes panic attacks – our oversensitive alarm systems.

The important question is – what triggers it? Why is it oversensitive? Unfortunately, the answers are not so simple. There might be many causes, both internal and external.

Most of the time it’s a combination of factors: heredity, personality, imbalance of brain chemicals, stress, major life transitions, and so on. There are genetic, psychological, physiological and environmental factors involved. And it’s very difficult to actually pinpoint anything. This is the main reason why there are no pharmaceutical solutions. Pills need clear targets.

Am I saying that there is no hope? Off course not, there is always hope. With the correct methods this issue can be successfully dealt with. But we have to look at the problem from a different perspective. As said before, it’s not the alarm system, it is its oversensitivity. And can we do something about it? You bet we can.

We can actually reprogram it. This is possible. It won’t happen overnight and it will require time and effort, but it is possible. Thousands of people have done it and can now enjoy a panic free life. You should try it too. It’s called cognitive behavioral therapy.

If you want to learn more about causes of panic attacks and how to deal with them, visit overcoming panic attacks.