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Anxiety is a response to a danger or threat. It is so named because all of its
effects are aimed toward either fighting or fleeing from the danger. Thus, the
sole purpose of anxiety is to protect the individual from harm. It was vital in the
daily survival of our ancient ancestors—when faced with some danger, an
automatic response would take over that propels them to take immediate action
such as attack or run. Even in today's hectic world, this is a necessary
mechanism. It comes in useful when you must respond to a real threat within a
split second.
Anxiety is a built-in mechanism to protect us from danger. Interestingly, it is a
mechanism that protects but does not harm—an important point that will be
elaborated upon later.
The Physical Manifestations of a Panic Attack
Nervousness and Chemical Effects
When confronted with danger, the brain sends signals to a section of the
nervous system. It is this system that is responsible for gearing the body up for
action and also calms the body down and restores equilibrium. To carry out
these two vital functions, the autonomic nervous system has two subsections,
the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
The sympathetic nervous system is the one we tend to know all too much about
because it primes our body for action, readies us for the “fight or flight”
response, while the parasympathetic nervous system is the one we love dearly
as it serves as our restoring system, which returns the body to its normal state.
When either of these systems is activated, they stimulate the whole body, which
has an “all or nothing” effect. This explains why when a panic attack occurs, the
individual often feels a number of different sensations throughout the body.
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