Why the panic habit begins Because panics commonly begin for no apparent reason the question Why is this happening? is a common initial response to them. Understanding how and why they begin certainly helps in dealing with them because we then have a rationale for their occurrence. Panic - a delayed reactionPanics commonly begin as a delayed response to how we have been living our lives in recent months or years - how we have been responding to everyday stressors, adjusting to significant life changes, and dealing with our emotions. The reactions can occur during the period of stress but they often occur quite some time afterwards, just when we thought we had put it all behind us. This is can be extremely disquieting because there is no apparent connection between the reaction and what is currently, or has recently been, occurring in our lives. So recognising that they are frequently a delayed reaction explains the apparent lack of cause. How long can this delay be? As long as a few months or as little as a few days. For example, when assisting someone in resolving the panic habit I generally ask them about life events in the six to twelve months prior to the onset of the reactions. A delayed reaction to...The follow are three of the more common categories of contributory causes 1. Everyday stressorsHow we deal with life's challenges and hassles affects our feelings towards life, towards other people and towards ourselves. If we have not been handling things effectively this can cause a lowering of confidence and self esteem and a buildup of underlying mental and physical tension 2. Life Changes Major changes in our living patterns require us to re-adjust to new situations. The more common changes include moving house, financial pressure, serious illness or operation, setbacks or alterations in working life, relationships ending or beginning, problems in a relationship, bereavement, accident, etc. This readjustment calls for considerable mental and behavioural flexibility, rather than a conservative attitude that wants things to remain as they were. Such flexibility is common in children and teenagers but frequently diminishes as we progress into adulthood. Lacking this flexibility we may find these life changes extremely stressful – even if the symptoms do not immediately appear. Often, in the midst of the crisis or upheaval, we can appear to be managing effectively, because we have things to do. This doesn't just fool others it also fools ourselves and afterwards, when things settle down again, we experience our delayed response. 3. Internally generated stressWhile all emotional stress is internally generated this refers to stress resulting from how we manage (or do not manage) our own thoughts and feelings. The following are common causes of, or factors that contribute to, the panic habit: on-going uneasiness, inner conflict, self-criticism or self-hatred, anger, resentment, guilt, emotional blocking, over-seriousness (with regard to ourselves or others), trying to be too `strong' and to support everyone else at the expense of our own needs, etc. Summary of the causes Ineffectiveness in dealing with one or more of these three areas will result in a gradual rise in physical and mental tension plus a gradual loss of self confidence. This can get to the point where even an innocuous event such as waiting in a queue, sitting in a traffic jam, being alone, being with too many people, attending a meeting, or eating in a restaurant can produce uneasiness. This uneasiness can eventually, or sometimes, quite suddenly rise to the level where we experience panic. Once the first `panic' has occurred we are then likely to attribute the panic to the situation in which we were when it occurred and we will likely try to avoid such situations - even though they were simply the 'final straw' - the precipitating event. The true cause of the panic is more likely to be how we have been dealing with stress in recent months. How we maintain the habit Irrespective of the original cause it is usually our worrying about the next `attack' that turns what might have been a one-off event into our habitual response to any slight change in our state resulting from a rise adrenaline. Soon even thinking about potentially difficult or challenging situations can produce the reactions. It is interesting and, for some people it is reassuring, to determine what gave rise to the habit. However when it comes to dealing with the habit it is important to remember than the key area of interest is "how I maintain this habit?" This search or observation exercise will provide important clues as to how we can weaken and replace this extremely unpleasant and debilitating experience and get on with living a normal life. 
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