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HELP! My panic attacks come totally out of the blue! I don't know how to handle that!
For an anxious person struggling with the process of anxiety disorder recovery, it can sometimes seem like panic attacks strike completely randomly and "out of the blue", where no clear source of anxiety can be identified as triggering the attack. This can be frustrating, especially if you've been working overtime to manage your anxiety and prevent panic from happening.
But there is no such thing as an "out of the blue" panic attack. In the context of disordered forms of anxiety, it is the resistance to panic and the urgent attempts to manage and prevent it that become the precipitating factors leading to future panic attacks. Trying hard to guarantee that you won't panic any more? Paradoxically, this is going to have the opposite effect, almost guaranteeing that you will likely experience more panic down the road.
When one is anxious about being anxious, or afraid of being afraid, the trigger for the most recent "out of the blue" panic attack can be found in all the panic attacks that came previously. The hidden trigger is in the checking, scanning, evaluating, and guarding against panic that allows a single sensation, thought, or feeling to trigger a rapid sequence of events that creates what appears to be a random, unexplainable instant panic attack.
It's actually good news that there are no true "random" panic attacks. We can use that information to make adjustments and change direction toward where we want be in recovery and in life.
For full show notes on this episode and other anxiety/recovery resources:
https://theanxioustruth.com/294
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Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.