I Die Of Anxiety: Myth Or Reality?

A panic attack can happen at any time, and for this reason, many people with panic disorder or anxiety are worried about the possibility of a new attack. Therefore, a person with panic attacks may be discouraged and ashamed because he or she is no longer able to perform daily activities such as shopping or driving a car.

Panic attacks are characterized by fear of losing control or the typical “ I die of anxiety ” idea. These people have strong physiological reactions that can feel like a heart attack, for example. Therefore, one of the most common symptoms of panic disorder is fear of death.

From now on, however, we would like to send a reassuring message to all these people. No one has died in a panic attack yet. It is true that the symptoms are very unpleasant and worrying, but no one dies from a panic attack. Another very different thing, however, is that when this panic attack leads to uncontrollable behavior (such as running out of the house and crossing the street without first looking around), it can, of course, compromise our physical integrity.

Panic attack

Panic attacks can occur in the background of any anxiety disorder or other mental disorder. These disorders can be, for example, depressive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, or mental disorders due to substance abuse. In addition, they can also occur in some diseases, such as diseases of the heart, respiratory tract, and stomach and intestines. As we can see, a panic attack is not a disorder in itself. Rather, it is a symptom.

What is a panic attack?

A panic attack is a sudden onset of intense fear or intense feeling of illness that reaches its maximum expression in just a few minutes. During this time, a person who has had a panic attack will experience four or more of the following symptoms:

• Palpitations, increased heart rate or heart rate
• Perspiration
• Tremor or convulsions
• Difficulty breathing or a feeling of suffocation
• A suffocating feeling
• Chest pain or anxiety
• Nausea or abdominal pain
• Dizziness, instability, headache or fainting
• Chills or feeling hot
• Paresthesias (numbness or tingling)

• Derealization (feeling of unreality) or depersonalization (feeling of being unreal)
• Fear of losing control or going crazy
• Fear of death

As we noted, these symptoms can occur in the context of both some physical illnesses and mental disorders. If you also suffer from anxiety, these symptoms may be familiar to you.

Is it possible that I will die of anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling that is common to all people. It is present throughout our lives. Like other emotions, it fulfills its intended function, as the purpose of a feeling of anxiety is to prepare us for what may be dangerous, and therefore activates itself when a potential threat or danger is detected.

Anxiety has, from an evolutionary perspective, helped man to survive, preparing us for battle or escape. Its purpose is adaptive, protecting us from potential dangers and threats. In other words, we could imagine it as an alarm system that protects us. But on the other hand, if it is meant to protect us, how can it harm us until it ends our lives?

Anxiety is neither good nor bad, it is just one of emotions like anger or joy. However, it becomes negative or pathological if it is excessive or uncontrollable.

Pathological anxiety is defined as anxiety that is excessive or disproportionate to the stimulus that causes it. Pathological anxiety affects a person very often or lasts a long time, and it limits the life of the person suffering from it, preventing him or her from adapting to his or her environment. Anxiety alone, then, cannot kill us, as it “protects” us from the dangers and threats we imagine.

If, on the other hand, we think about anxiety and its adaptive function, we see it as necessary. For example, in the case of loud noise, it is normal for us to wake up and put ourselves in a state of tension. This would help us escape from a place where something might fall on us, for example.

If it’s not bad, why does it make me feel like I’m dying of anxiety?

If your brain detects a real or imagined threat, it activates an alarm system that leads to changes in your body on a physiological level to protect your life. These changes in a panic attack are perceived as a threat because the danger is not real. If you were in a really dangerous situation, you would not feel these symptoms dangerous. You see them as a normal counterattack in this situation that puts you in real danger to life.

For example, if you are in a place that catches fire right now, you feel the danger and your alarm system is activated. In this way, physiological activation takes place, allowing you to escape the burning space and save your life. To do this, your heart needs to beat faster so it can send more blood to your limbs. However, your heart will not beat faster because of a defect in your heart, and you will not die of anxiety.

Something similar happens when you feel you are not breathing. No one has died from suffocation or a feeling of suffocation during a panic attack. On the contrary, this reaction increases the oxygen content of the blood as a result of increased number of breaths. This is called hyperventilation.

So you just don’t have to worry about dying of anxiety. The symptoms are indeed embarrassing, but they are not life-threatening. The most common thing is that if you see a doctor based on these symptoms, he or she will probably tell you that you are suffering from anxiety, and you don’t have to worry about it. However, in cases where the anxiety becomes very severe or recurrent, it may be necessary for your doctor to refer you to an expert.