Why do panic attacks sometimes come out of the blue for no reason?
17 Answers
Moderated by Joe Nelson, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Doctor of Social Work
Updated: Dec 28, 2021
sweetserenity7
on
Mar 31, 2015
...read more
It may seem that they are out of the blue but that is only to the conscious mind. There may be underlying reasons in our subconscious causing these panic attacks. These underlying reasons could be anything from hidden stress, an unknown fear, etc. Regardless of the cause there is no out of the blue for a panic attack it only appears that way.
Dealing with panic attacks?
Takes less than a minute. Keeps 7 Cups free for someone else.
A small contribution goes straight to keeping the community running.
PashT007
on
Mar 31, 2015
...read more
Panic attacks usually have triggers, maybe your trigger is unknown and you haven't realized that you have an unknown trigger.
Anonymous
on
Apr 13, 2015
...read more
Its because the person had an earliar experince with such situation .. when it occurs again the human mind tends to react the same action it did before .
HealingLotus
on
Apr 21, 2015
...read more
Because that's the definition of a panic attack. They are triggered by something, it all works by triggers, a smell, a sound, a sensation, and this trigger or you can say switch, turns on the panic attack, like a TV channel. One small thing brings up trauma. It's like when you take notes in school, your goal is to write in key words to remember what you learned, not to write word for word. So memory words by small reminders that are attached to large amounts of information, memories or events. It's how the brain works. Use this to your advantage.
Anonymous
on
May 7, 2015
...read more
Panic attacks are usually triggered by something, but it can be hard to tell what it is, especially when it's a subtle trigger.
TheFaultInOurStars
on
May 10, 2015
...read more
Personally for me, sometimes. I just have "off days" where my panic attacks will happen over something that I usually would react normally to. So I can't say it's out of the blue, but sometimes it doesn't seem as warranted.
SpiritWolfNYC
on
May 30, 2015
...read more
Our brains believe you are in danger at the moment and that is why they pop out of the blue. There is a more scientific explaination for this though!
empathicAngel83
on
Jul 14, 2015
...read more
Panic attacks sometimes come out of the blue because the mind and body is reacting to a situation that triggered severe anxiety. Some people are unaware that they are experiencing a panic attack until they are already in the middle of one.
Anonymous
on
Aug 18, 2015
...read more
In my experience I tend to overthink without clarification. I need to learn more techniques in coping and just chill.
Dannchillin
on
Nov 9, 2015
...read more
Panic attacks appear more in times of stress but small things can set them off too especially if I've been holding feelings in. And sometimes they just happen for no reason
Anonymous
on
Nov 23, 2015
...read more
Sometimes we get so overwhelmed that we don't even know it. It's crazy how our bodies work but it's amazing
Anonymous
on
May 23, 2016
...read more
Sometimes people think of something out of the blue that can stress them out or make them upset, this is normal.
kaitykait
on
Jul 19, 2016
...read more
Sometimes your body takes longer to react to anxiety. Sometimes your body can take weeks to actually react to a stressful situation.
Paige81
on
May 23, 2017
...read more
Even though we may have learned to control our emotional or mental reaction that leads to a panic attack, our bodies can still have a conditioned physiological response. This is seen in trauma victims who may have a trigger that has not been identified or that has a deeper conditioned response.
Anonymous
on
Jun 5, 2017
...read more
Panic attacks are a result of suppressed emotions and it's in their nature to just come out of nowhere, mostly in situations where we really do not want them. It's the body's reaction of dealing with overflowing emotions, at some point they just spill over like boiling water. So we're not really in control of when we get a panic attack.
Anonymous
on
Apr 20, 2020
...read more
your brain might have indirect flashbacks that you might not feel. panic attacks are not necessarily preceded by a specific environmental event, then, therefore, there are no specific triggers. I think that since I've gone through the same, I know it happens because of nerve triggers in your brain which are dominantly caused because of anxiety or high levels of unhealthy stress. such attacks might not be preventable in one point of view but obviously such cases have a cure at an extent. Meds are always an option but personally i wouldn't take those as then your body gets used to it.
Anonymous
on
Dec 28, 2021
...read more
Panic attacks are triggered by your flight and fight response, so there is some sort of input to trigger that flight and fight response and the hardest thing is that we might not even be aware of it. It can be an event that happened to us in the past that we found traumatic or even how we view how other people perceive us. There is also a biological explanation in which sometimes panic attacks are impacted by a little adrenaline rush and too much of adrenaline can make us feel anxious. You can try some deep breathing exercises in case you have an anxiety attack.