Dr. Nicole Cain breaks down three root causes of panic attacks: trauma-related panic with derealization, cardiac anxiety tied to heart issues, and respiratory anxiety linked to depression. She recommends identifying which type you have and treating the dominant one first, since most people have a mix.
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Hey there. Let's talk more about the three types of panic attacks. The three types of panic attacks looks at the root cause of your panic, not necessarily the way that you experience panic. So, for example, if you have a history of trauma, oftentimes that trauma can cause your body to express panic via derealization. This is where you may dissociate or not be in your body or even in the environment mentally during a panic attack. The second type, cardiac anxiety. This is where a panic attack can arise from having a history of cardiac disease. Whether it's a heart attack or some sort of a cardiac surgery. These individuals tend to have symptoms of agoraphobia, but you may also see symptoms of anxiety that are across the board. Of the eight types of anxiety, if you have a history of depression, you may be more apt to have panic attacks that are of the depressive type, and they call this respiratory anxiety. So regardless of the type of panic attack that you're dealing with, you want to look at how it's expressing itself. If you have a history of trauma, yes, do the trauma work, but then look at the eight types of anxiety to identify in what unique way your anxiety is telling you need support. You may find, and often people do, that you have a mix of all eight types of anxiety. But the most important thing is to look at what the main thing of the main thing is and then start there.
