Yes and yes!
Although it can seem that a panic attack comes 'out of the blue' but they never do. And once we've had one it's very likely that they will continue. Let me explain.
Our bodies are constantly doing weird and wonderful things in their role of regulating energy in/energy out. We get random extra heart beats, surges of heat or cold, occasional lightheadedness, sudden pains, etc alongside the normal gurgles. Mostly we never notice these, or dismiss them as unimportant.
If, however, we're are particularly susceptible - because we're overtired, hungover, dehydrated, hungry, stressed or simply in unfamiliar surroundings (such as being on holiday) - we can become hyperaware of those completely normal events.
So, you're feeling fragile and all of a sudden your heart starts racing for no apparent reason. Your mind recognises this as abnormal and sets off the alarm bells. What's happening? Am I having a heart attack? Am I about to die? Your mind triggers the emotion of fear which floods your sympathetic nervous system with adrenaline as you go into the 'fight or flight' response. Now your heart really starts pumping, you get hot, dizzy, nauseous and every part of your being is behaving in a way that scares the shit out of you. That's why the vast majority of first time panic attacks end up in A&E.
As a result of this, a part of your mind sets up an alert to look out for this horrible thing happening again because it believes you need to be forewarned, in case the next one really is a heart attack. This means that the slightest change in your body, or even the hint of a change - those that you wouldn't have even noticed before - will make the mind hit the panic button. So you get into a cycle of fearing, and scanning for, signs and thus a panic 'disorder' sets in. It's real, it's debilitating and it can control your life.
That's the bad news. There is good news!
Firstly no one ever, EVER, died from a panic attack. Yes, they feel awful but they are not dangerous. If you can control your emotional response you can simply sit through it quietly until it passes, using your breath* to control your physical reaction. When you've done that once your mind will think 'Oh, that wasn't that bad. Maybe I don't need to overreact so much next time'. After a few times (or maybe just that one) you realise that it's not a big deal and they will fade away; stripped of their power.
My fear is being away from my "safe space" and triggering the depersonalization again.
If you are part of the approx. 80% who respond to hypnosis it would definitely help with your fear. In the Western world we are very rarely faced with true danger, the sort of danger that the fight or flight response was essential for hundreds of years ago. So your fear is a construct of your subconscious mind and can be unlearnt.
Sorry for the essay. It's raining outside and I'm putting off going out to poo pick the horse fields 😂
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