Question:
I'm specifically interested in severe panic attacks.
Why don't "normies" have severe panic attacks ?
What is so special about us that we have severe
panic attacks that can leave lifelong memories and phobias ?
If we were we born with the capacity to have severe
panic attacks, why didn't they start in childhood ?
Answer:
the seeds for them have-and in some cases so did the panic attacks,
but they inability of a childs mind to fathom the repurcusions, the
ramifications or the future consequences of further attacks on their
life is more limited, so they actually are protected from developing
secondary fear-or fear of the panic attack itself. Children manifest
anxiety more somatically-ie: headaches, belly aches, learning or
concentration difficulties, depression, tics, nervous habits etc...
they are less complex and developed both psychologically or
biologically so they show different symptoms and affectations
Interesting what you wrote here. Since I have no memories of not having
this disorder and the OCD I can say this is very true. for instance the
AA started later much in my life. AFAICS now I felt as child that all
attacks where incidents. And yes as child you get more physical
complaints as you wrote them above. Misleading to the GP of course.
I have seen severe PA's in 'normies" in very panick-provoking situations
that subsided very quickly and where not processed as a fear for a
future attack.
They do. There are studies showing that at least 25% of the
population have at least one panic attack in their life time. IMO this
is a very conservative figure and that its probably closer to 80-90%.
But less than 2% of the population develop PD.
Don't know. I did have at least two PAs before the one that propelled
me into full blown PD. The first one was even more severe than the
third, but I brushed it off because I was able to rationalise a
logical explanation for it. However, I couldn't for the third.
The second one wasn't as severe as either 1 or 3, but bad enough for
me to make an appointment with my doc, but I still wasn't overly
concerned. However, it almost certainly influenced my reaction to PA
number 3.
Timing also played a part. Numbers 1 and 2 were about 6 months apart
whereas the third PA occurred soon after number 2.
As Margrove has already written, as children we don't have either the
physical or mental maturity to process our anxieties in the same way
we do as adults. However, while far fewer children than adults
experience PAs, some kids do have them.
Another factor may be that most anxiety disorders begin within 6-12
months of some significant stressful event, a bereavement, divorce,
job change etc. It may be that we need to be pushed beyond our
personal anxiety threshold before we anxiety at a level that could be
called a disorder. Your neighbour may be just as physically prone to
PD as you, but hasn't been stressed beyond his coping ability yet and
so hasn't developed PD. Its quite possible he will never will.
A strong clue that this may be the case is that while less than 2% of
the population get PD, the figure can be much higher in groups that
have been exposed to extreme stressful. For example, the percentage of
Holocaust survivors with anxiety and depression disorders is 5 or 6
times higher than the general population rate. Similarly, cops, fire
fighters, medical professionals etc, also have higher incidence of
both anxiety and depression disorders.
