subject: What Happens in A Child's Brain When Panic Attacks Strike! [print this page] Recent Studies Shed Light on Anxiety and Panic Attack Disorders
The University College London recently published findings in the Science journal, that activity in the brain moves from the front of the brain to the mid brain when people are experiencing extreme anxiety or panic attacks. This was demonstrated using MRI (fMRI) scans showing higher blood flow to the section of the brain that was most active. The front of the brain (prefrontal cortex) is where all decision making and rationalization takes place. The mid-brain (periaqueductal grey area) is where survival mechanisms such as fight or flight originate from.
It's now widely accepted among medical professionals that a panic attack is a 'fight or flight' response to a perceived threat, and the reason the brain responds in this way goes back to our prehistoric past when humans in the wild needed their bodies to respond instantly to a physical threat. What this new study reveals is, the mental activity during a panic attack suddenly shifts from the front of the brain (prefrontal cortex) to the mid-brain (periaqueductal grey area) which, in that instant, results in a heightened state of fear and panic. The point being, when an anxiety or panic attack strikes, a separate part of the brain becomes more active.
In today's world it seems that the problem is, once the attack begins and the heightened state of fear is triggered, it's almost impossible for the person suffering the panic attack to calm themselves down. To truly restore calm the brain's mental activity needs to change, which is the reason why deep breathingafter the fact is ineffective, because in reality, when the sufferer attempts restoring calm to the body using deep breathing techniques, it's not unlike shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.
Learning to Recognize Anxiety Symptoms in Children
* Headaches, stomach aches, lack of concentration?
* Nervous, jittery, hypersensitive behaviour for no apparent reason?
* Decreased performance and lack of concentration at school?
* Avoidance of social activities, spending less time with friends?
* Nervous tics, compulsive nail biting, hair pulling, changes in sleeping patterns?
* Excessive moodiness and outbursts of anger?
* Persistent worries that appear to be unjustified for the given situation?
* Being unusually or overly self-critical.
* A high need for reassurance.
* Dangerous behavior such as cutting or drug and alcohol abuse.
Helping Adolescents and Young Teens Overcome Their Fears
It's the parents' responsibility to help their child overcome the fear triggering their anxiety and panic attacks by first learning to recognize the symptoms (as described above) leading up to the attacks, and once recognised, it is then important the parents be there to comfort the child and reassure them that their fears can be overcome.
Doing this opens communication between parents and child, and once open, using the tried and tested techniques that are now available, the parents will then begin noticing the child's fear diminishing and their confidence returning - and the reallygood news is, if the parents' continue to comfort and support their child through these fears, together parents and child will notice the anxiety and panic attacks losing their power, until finally they have diminished all together.
For further help recognizing anxiety symptoms in children, and knowledge of what is available to parents to combat their child's fears, I invite you to visitanxietysymptomschildren.com
What Happens in A Child's Brain When Panic Attacks Strike!
By: Philip D English
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