Panic is an unconscious instinctive horror, a negatively colored affect provoked by an imaginary or real danger, a psychological state characterized by a feeling of extreme fear, an irresistible desire to avoid a situation that seems dangerous. This condition can affect one subject or several people at the same time.
A state of panic often gives rise to serious complications and problems, most of which end in the absurd death of the panicking person. Panic disorder is dangerous because an individual experiencing unaccountable fear tends to take rash actions that aggravate the situation. In addition, the state of panic spreads like a chain reaction. And then, instead of one panicking person, you can get an uncontrollable crowd that is not aware of its own intentions. Many scientists are convinced that there is no more dangerous weapon than a mindless, frightened crowd.
Causes of panic
To this day, it is not possible to establish the exact reasons that provoke panic attacks. However, most researchers are convinced that the tendency to panic attacks must be found in family relationships and upbringing. In addition, the occurrence of panic attacks is associated with:
- with multiple stressful situations, worries that were pushed into the subconscious;
- family conflicts and confrontations at work;
- neurophysical fatigue;
- traumas of a psychological nature that were suppressed by force of will;
- anticipation of any stress;
- disruption of hormone production;
- emotional, mental overstrain;
- sharp pain in the body or a feeling of discomfort in the body of unknown etiology, which causes anxiety and a sudden fear of imminent death;
- abuse of alcoholic beverages;
- mental disorders such as depression and various phobias.
In addition, anxiety and panic can be caused by certain illnesses and physical causes. For example, panic attacks can often be observed with the following ailments: hypoglycemia, mitral valve prolapse (a disease characterized by the malfunction of one of the heart valves), hyperthyroidism.
Panic can also be observed due to the intake of certain stimulants, for example, caffeine, amphetamines, cocaine.
Among physical factors, increased activity of beta-adrenergic receptors is distinguished. When there is a deviation in the functioning of these receptors, an excessive amount of adrenaline is suddenly released, which provokes a narrowing of the blood vessels, as a result of which the pulse quickens, blood pressure rises and the airways expand.
Psychoanalytic theory states that an unconscious feeling of anxiety arises due to the presence of internal causes. Along with this, followers of behavioral therapy are convinced that anxiety has a connection with external conditions, for example, when an individual is not able to overcome certain problems.
Panic in a child may arise due to the peculiarities of adaptation in modern society. Children are faced with competition problems from an early age. They try to be more attractive in order to gain a certain position in the school hierarchy. In addition, panic in a child can often be based on the fear of being ridiculed.
Adults should also understand that fear and the ensuing panic in a child intensifies when children try to hide their own state from others and hide their emotions.
Children's panic attacks are accompanied by various manifestations of the autonomic system. When a feeling of panic arises, the baby feels his own insecurity and vulnerability, so he is in dire need of parental support.
Panic as a socio-psychological phenomenon. Panic as a mass phenomenon of the psyche
Panic is, first of all, a special mental state of a person, which affects many people and is therefore considered as a mass phenomenon of the psyche. Panic is preceded and accompanied by a state of fear associated with the awareness of a serious threat to the life and well-being of people.
Panic can have external and internal reasons. External causes of a panic state can include various threats to a person or people close to him coming from the environment, for example natural disasters (earthquake, fire, tsunami, epidemic, sudden temperature change, lack of oxygen, etc.), social disasters (a coup d'etat or the passing of a ruler on whom people had high hopes, the disappearance of vital goods from sale, the depreciation of money, an increase in crime, etc.).
The internal, psychological cause of panic or a panicky state can be processes occurring within the person himself, as well as processes occurring outside him, in the immediate social environment, in society as a whole or in nature - those that a person incorrectly perceives and interprets. An internal cause of panic can be a person’s awareness that he is seriously and incurably ill, that incomprehensible processes are occurring in his body or psyche that pose a threat to his physical or mental well-being, causing increased anxiety and fear.
States of panic are varied, and if they cover masses of people, then they can be classified according to a number of criteria, for example, by the significance of the influence on the psychology and behavior of masses of people (by the depth of panic), by scale (the number of people in panic), by duration and by consequences .
Based on the significance of the influence of panic on the psychology and behavior of masses of people, one can distinguish between weak, medium and strong states of panic. Mild panic states manifest themselves in the fact that during them relatively minor disturbances in the psychology and behavior of people occur, which do not lead to serious, destructive psychological or behavioral consequences. Examples of such conditions are temporary general confusion of people, their increased anxiety, which, however, do not significantly affect either their social behavior or themselves as individuals. For example, some unexpected and unpleasant message for people can cause them to have a mild, temporary state of panic. People may think about it, worry about it, but it will nevertheless not affect their normal, everyday behavior: everything will remain the same as it was before. If, for example, people are late for work or an appointment and do not have time to do it on time, if they are unable to purchase something they really need at a given moment in time, then they may be seized by a state of panic.
Psychology of panic
People's panic has the following characteristics:
- it occurs mainly in large groups (crowds, mass gatherings of people);
- provoked by a feeling of uncontrollable fear, caused by a real danger or based on an imaginary threat (for example, panic on an airplane);
— panic is most often a spontaneously arising phenomenon, manifested in the disorganized behavior of people;
— people in a state of panic are characterized by behavioral uncertainty, consisting of confusion, chaotic actions and inappropriate behavioral response in general.
Thus, panic of people is a spontaneously emerging phenomenon of a large crowd of people who are in a state of heightened emotional arousal due to the influence of an uncontrolled feeling of fear and horror.
It is known that anxiety and panic do not arise in every mass gathering of people. Decisive for the occurrence of such a condition is a combination of a number of conditions and the influence of various factors:
- a psychological atmosphere of increased anxiety and uncertainty of a group of individuals in situations of danger or due to prolonged experience of negative emotions (for example, living under conditions of regular bombing), such an atmosphere is considered pre-panic, that is, preceding and contributing to the emergence of a panic state;
- the presence of rumors that induce and stimulate a state of panic, for example, inciting the degree of negative consequences of the perceived danger;
— certain personal qualities of individuals and the presence of a tendency to panic.
What to do if you feel an acute feeling of loneliness
The best remedy is a conversation with an intelligent person. Moreover, this interlocutor is always with you – it’s you. Tell yourself that:
• You are alive. • You can move around. • You can come up with something (there are no hopeless situations). • Your organoid can easily withstand 3-4 days without water and 3 weeks without food. • They are looking for you. They will find you. These could be rescuers or random travelers. • You can go out onto the path or see signs of people and civilization at any time. • You need to maintain composure as this is the basis of survival. • You can always start surviving from that point and with the items that you have at that particular moment. • You can always laugh in the face of despair and send it away. • You can do even more than you think (this is not a thought - this is a statement!). • You will definitely survive.
Types of panic
Panic conditions are classified according to the scope of individuals and their nature. According to the coverage of individuals, panic can be: mass, that is, it covers a large number of individuals (for example, during floods) and individual (for example, a woman just before giving birth).
Types of panic by nature: affective panic and behavioral panic.
The first type is a group response, which is controlled by a strong sense of fear and horror that instantly grips individuals (for example, panic on an airplane). Typically, such a state begins with the panic of individual highly suggestible, hysterical individuals (alarmists), infecting those around them with a panicky attitude. This species is characterized by a state of acute psychosis, mass hysteria, uncontrollable behavior, and unclear perception of the environment.
The second type represents emotionally dictated, deliberate decisions and actions that do not always correspond to the level of danger. It forms and fades gradually. It originates not in a mass accumulation of individuals, but among individual groups of the population.
There are also various forms of panic:
- mass exodus, which is an unconscious flight from an imagined or real-life threat;
- panic moods, which are the psychological states of individual individuals or entire classes, in which the balance between the guiding and regulating components, emotional and rational, changes. As a result, behavior becomes subject to random stimuli and practically unpredictable;
— economic panic, first of all, is observed on banking exchanges and is manifested either by an incredible influx of depositors, or by a crisis due to inflation, rising prices or a change in the economic system in the country.
Signs of panic
Symptoms and signs of panic usually develop suddenly and reach their climax very quickly (no more than ten minutes). Most attacks last about 20-30 minutes.
Basically, attacks occur in the following way: the individual is relaxed, doing everyday things, for example, watching TV, and suddenly he is overcome by a wave of absolutely causeless, extreme fear.
Typical signs and symptoms of panic: shortness of breath or hyperventilation, choking, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, discomfort or pain in the chest area, tremors, a feeling of unreality or isolation from the environment, intestinal upset or nausea, sweating, fainting or dizziness, tingling or numbness, cold or hot flashes, confusion, fear of losing control, dying, or going crazy.
In addition to the listed signs, atypical symptoms of panic are also identified: vision or hearing is impaired, muscle cramps appear, gait becomes uncertain, a feeling of the so-called “lump in the throat” appears, the individual loses consciousness, and excessive urination.
After a sudden fear, a surge of adrenaline increases in the body, which sends the message “flight or fight” to the nervous system. Breathing increases in intensity, the heart begins to beat at a breakneck speed, and profuse sweating occurs, which may result in chills. Due to hyperventilation of the lungs, dizziness and numbness of the limbs occur. The body prepares to escape from a dangerous situation that may not actually exist.
At the end of the attack, the person does not feel better; on the contrary, he develops a persistent fear of a repetition of such a condition. Such fear only increases the frequency of subsequent attacks.
In addition, the manifestations of attacks depend on the form of panic. There are three forms of panic depending on the degree of occurrence: mild, moderate and extreme. Every individual has experienced mild panic symptoms throughout their existence. A sharp sound and the person flinches, but at the same time maintains self-control. A situation in which there is a complete overestimation of what is happening provokes a moderate form of attack.
The most dangerous form of a panic attack is considered to be an extreme degree in which a state of passion arises and the individual loses control. A similar condition can be triggered by a natural disaster, catastrophe, or earthquake.
