Is a Panic Attack a Symptom of an Anxiety Disorder?

If you haven’t experienced a panic attack, you probably know someone who has. It seems that every where you turn, some one is popping some pill to ward off anxiety. Just because you have a panic attack, though, does that necessarily mean you have an anxiety disorder? Is every panic attack another symptom of an anxiety disorder? Not necessarily.

A panic attack would seem to be a reliable indicator of an anxiety disorder, so why shouldn’t you use that as an indicator? There’s two reasons: first, everyone experiences panic at some point in their lives; and second, a person with an anxiety disorder may never have a panic attack.

Panic is a natural reaction to perceived threats, and in the proper context, may save your life. When faced with a threat, your brain tells your adrenal gland to release adrenaline and other hormones into the blood stream. The many physical reactions to these hormones are all intended to help you survive the threat. Sophisticated brain activity – how to do math, for instance – is shut down so oxygen can be diverted from the brain to the muscles. The heart pumps faster to get more oxygen-rich blood to the muscles. In the face of a threat, these things help you react and either fight or flee the threat. In the absence of a threat, these are the uncomfortable symptoms of a panic attack.

However, just because someone isn’t trying to kill you doesn’t mean that you aren’t facing a panic-inducing threat. You could experience a panic reaction when your boss yells at you or when navigating a difficult stretch on an unfamiliar road. Strange surroundings and loud noises can induce the reaction, and all of these are natural, appropriate situations in which to experience panic. So just because you’ve had a panic attack doesn’t mean you have an anxiety disorder.

On the other hand, just because you have an anxiety disorder doesn’t mean your symptoms will include a panic attack. It is quite common for a depressed person to also suffer from an anxiety disorder and yet never have a panic attack. As well, some people have an anxiety disorder for a while before some triggering event leads to recurrent panic attacks. Often, these people don’t even think they have anxiety disorders until they have a panic attack even though they’ve been anxious and worried about things for years.

So when is a panic attack a symptom of an anxiety disorder? When you have recurrent panic attacks, and they seem not to have a cause, you may have an anxiety disorder. Randomness many indicate that your panic attacks are a symptom of an anxiety disorder. Perhaps most tellingly, when panic attacks and anxiety disorders are connected, the panic attack is usually accompanied by a sense of overwhelming fear. In appropriate circumstances, panic is not accompanied by disproportionate fear.

A panic attack may be a symptom of an anxiety disorder, but if you aren’t experiencing them regularly or if you didn’t experience overwhelming fear during the panic attack, you probably don’t have an anxiety disorder. On the other hand, if you constantly worry about things that are out of your control, you may have an anxiety disorder even though you don’t have panic attacks. If this is the case, make an appointment with a mental health professional so you can get help if you need it.