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Why do I get Panic Attacks when I get nervous about stuff? Especially when the things I get worried about wont effect my future.

11 Answers
Last Updated: 02/18/2020 at 1:07pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Jessica McDaniel, LPC, LCPC

Licensed Professional Counselor

I have been practicing cognitive behavioral psychotherapy since 2007 with a diverse group of adult clients with various diagnoses, all races, and socioeconomic classes.

Top Rated Answers
HealingLotus
April 11th, 2015 12:09am
The technical answer is because your brain is programed into the fight or flight reflex. To what degree I'd need more information to tell you. A good measure is if you were abused as a baby or small child, or you faced any childhood trauma. If any of those are true for you, when your brain was growing and developing, it literally wired in a destructive way, as it did for me. That is one option, the other option is that it's miner situational panic attacks which aren't deeply rooted and are more curable. Logic and reason makes no difference if your brain is stuck in the fight or flight reflex, it's a state of feeling unsafe, and at worst pure panic. Also reality and facts have no affect on the fight or flight reflex, your brain can respond to completely imagined dangers, such as unrealistic worries or anything you can imagine really. It's because it's not taking information from reality, it's taking information from our thoughts and it's feeling unsafe. So what you need to do is learn how to remove yourself from the flight or flight reflex (anxiety/panic) and move up into the higher parts of your brain that respond to logic and reason. for this please refer to the anxiety help guide.
Anonymous
July 18th, 2015 12:14pm
Your logical mind may not be processing your anxiety correctly, so you may get nervous about things your logical side wouldn't normally care about. When your mind is under immense pressure it can begin to almost shut down or malfunction. This can come in the form of panic attacks
PashT007
March 31st, 2015 8:31pm
We train ourselves in all areas of life. Being nervous has to be trained out of us. Face your fears over time and you will be fine. Wishing you the best.
LuminousMoon
April 6th, 2015 12:44am
When we have nervous thoughts, sometimes our brain isn't fully reasoning whether or not what we are anxious about will have an effect on our future. In that anxious moment, the brain doesn't always "think" about the fact that maybe what we are worried about is something not that big in the long run. Instead, the brain takes the anxious feeling and sees it as a sign of danger, triggering the fight-or-flight response. This is what speeds up your heart rate and gives you a more energetic, jittery feeling. Panic attacks don't just have to happen with dangerous situations, because the brain can sometimes create a "dangerous situation" out of a harmless one.
PoliteOcean
September 6th, 2015 3:17am
This can be difficult and theres not a one answer fits all. If you feel that you are suffering from panic attacks and its affecting your daily living, perhaps speaking with a trusted adult could help. If you are an adult perhaps seeking help through a counselor or therapist can help.
Anonymous
November 30th, 2015 10:45am
For me my brain takes a mole hill so to speak and makes a mountain out of it. I over analyse and take the smallest most insignificant things and blow them way out of proportion to the point that I reduce myself to a panic attack.
Anonymous
December 21st, 2015 4:48pm
You get nervous because you worry about what others think of you. that's a normal feeling of course, but you need to remind yourself that it's inconsequencial, and there's no need to panic.
originalRabbit76
July 25th, 2016 10:06am
Because the brain collects hundreds of thoughts when suddenly the slightest worry strikes you and all of these thoughts enter your head which makes you panic which causes a panic attack
Anonymous
February 6th, 2018 6:02pm
I really have no clue anxiety is so random that you can’t help it and to feel that is horrible I suffer from anxiety
Anonymous
March 5th, 2018 12:29am
You can get panic attacks, when you get nervous about things that may not happen to you by relooking through your past experience if it's a negative impact than most likely you will view yourself in the future in seeing the same situation take place even if by than you won't be experiencing it.
FranzFerdinandSam
February 18th, 2020 1:07pm
Nervousness is just one reason for panic attacks. Anxiety has multiple faucets. A major reason for panic attacks is psyching yourself out, making the problem seem a lot bigger and unbeatable than it is. When you get worried about something, the first thing your brain wants to do is panic. That’s just for basic survival from predators. To contradict that, just calm yourself down enough to make a plan on how to solve you’re problem. Take it step by step and if you only get one step in, remember that that’s still better than no plan at all. The biggest step is to calm yourself down. This can be in a variety of ways, it’s different from person to person.

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