Panic attacks cause the sudden onset of extreme emotional distress and physical anxiety symptoms including difficulty breathing, racing heart rate, dizziness, heart palpitations, and nausea. A panic attack can make the person to believe that something bad is going to happen to them or a loved one. Isolation by people who have panic attacks is an attempt to avoid situations that might trigger a panic attack. How do I control a panic attack?

In my experience, truly believing something bad is going to happen is the most terrifying part of a panic attack. The physical symptoms of panic attacks can mimic a heart attack and cause additional anxiety for many people. These physical symptoms of anxiety cause fear of a heart attack which exacerbates the already elevated levels of anxiety.

Identifying the symptoms as just a panic attack and acknowledge that there is no real danger can help diffuse the panic attack. This is easier said than done, but it does become easier with practice. Acknowledging the panic attack for what it is can help avoid adding to the anxiety by worrying about a perceived threat or heart attack.

Some people who have panic attacks take medication at the onset of symptoms. The physician or psychiatrist may prescribe a medication for panic attacks that is only taken as needed. A daily anxiety medication may be prescribed to reduce the likelihood of experiencing panic attack symptoms.

Isolating is very common for people who experience panic attacks, because the person begins to fear panic attacks. The fear of panic attacks causes the person to retreat to living in a comfort zone. If the person experiences panic attacks in crowds, the person may start avoiding stores and the public in general.

The behaviorism perspective explains why a person with panic attacks may struggle with isolation. Panic attacks in public places can be perceived subconsciously as a punishment for being in public. Behaviorists would call this positive punishment. Since staying at home does not cause a panic attack, the lack of panic attacks is a reward, or negative reinforcement according to behaviorists, for staying at home. The shaping of behavior with reinforcement and punishment is a process called operant conditioning.

Isolation is extremely detrimental since the person’s comfort zone tends to decrease in size over time. In my case, I started out avoiding stores. Then, I avoided going out public at all. My comfort zone was my home. Then, my comfort zone continued to shrink until I was practically confined to my bedroom and could no longer even check my mail without experiencing terrible anxiety. I was surprised to find out that this is actually a common course of the illness.

So, I’ve begun to challenge myself to go out in public at least once a week. Going out in public has decreased the anxiety tremendously. I encourage anyone who suffers from anxiety or panic attacks related to being in public to try their best to force themselves to be outside their comfort zone regularly.