Ep. 170 Why Understanding the Cause of Midlife Panic Attacks Is the Most Overlooked Coping Skill To Reduce Anxiety

Do you know what to do the moment panic hits?
Panic attacks in midlife can feel terrifying and overwhelming—but they’re not dangerous, and you’re not powerless.
In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. The top three science-backed causes of panic attacks.

2. The three psychosocial roots of panic in midlife.
3. How understanding the cause of your anxiety can lead to lasting relief. 

This episode will leave you feeling more equipped and less afraid.

If you want to receive MJ’s 3-minute Box Breathing audio—your portable, practical tool for calming panic—click the link in the show notes and send an email to mj@mjmurrayvachon.com.

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About the Host:
MJ Murray Vachon LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 48,000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching her Mental Wellness curriculum, Inner Challenge. Four years ago she overcame her fear of technology to create a podcast that integrated her vast clinical experience and practical wisdom of cultivating mental wellness using the latest information from neuroscience. MJ was Social Worker of the Year in 2011 for Region 2/IN.

Creating Midlife Calm is a podcast designed to guide you through the challenges of midlife, tackling issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, feeling unworthy, procrastination, and isolation, while offering strategies for improving relationships, family support, emotional wellbeing, mental wellness, and parenting, with a focus on mindfulness, stress management, coping skills, and personal growth to stop rumination, overthinking, and increase confidence through self-care, emotional healing, and mental health support.

Transcript

M.J. Murray Vachon LCSW: 0:00

In this episode, you'll discover why understanding the roots of panic attacks can help you start healing them.

Built-in Microphone: 0:07

Welcome to Creating Midlife Calm, a podcast dedicated to empowering midlife minds to overcome anxiety, stop feeling like crap and become more present with your family, all while achieving greater success at work. I'm MJ Murray Vachon, a licensed clinical social worker with over 48, 000 hours of therapy sessions and 31 years of experience teaching mental wellness.

M.J. Murray Vachon LCSW: 0:31

Welcome to the podcast today. We're gonna follow up on Monday's episode on what to do when you have a panic attack by talking about what are the causes of panic attacks? By the end of this episode, you're gonna understand the top science-backed and psychosocial causes of panic attacks in midlife. You're going to discover how the brain's threat system, your body's biology and your life history, can all contribute to panic. I'm also gonna talk about highly sensitive people who may be more vulnerable to panic and why it's essential to rule out physical conditions like mitral valve prolapse. All in an effort to help you understand what's driving your panic so you can create a roadmap to healing. When you know the root cause of your panic, you can begin to make the life changes and apply the coping skills to reduce anxiety or even eliminate panic altogether. I have worked with so many clients who have used their panic attacks to gain insight and understanding so they can be free of them. I. Before we dive in. A quick reminder about Monday's Inner Challenge. Don't forget, you can click the link in the show notes. And send an email to mj@mjmurrayvachon.com. I'll send you a three minute guided box breathing audio, a coping skill that is your own personable portable. EpiPen for panic attacks. I'm really excited to give you this simple, powerful tool that you can download and use at any time. One of the most important parts in learning how to treat panic is practicing these skills in calm moments. So when the panic starts, you are ready and know what to do. Let's start by exploring what science tells us about the top causes of panic attacks. While I'm presenting these causes, as if they're separate, some biological, some psychosocial, they're actually deeply connected, as you've heard me say many times on this podcast, the body and the mind influence each other constantly. A medical issue can cause emotional sensitivity and unresolved emotional stress. Can cause real physical symptoms. That's why if you suffer from panic attacks, it's so important to work with a medical professional who can rule out or treat any physical contributors, and to partner with a therapist who understands the emotional and behavioral patterns behind panic. Panic isn't just in your head and it isn't just in your body, it's in the relationship between the two. Let's look at the top three causes of panic attacks. The first is what we call a hyperactive amygdala. The amygdala is your brain's fear center. In some people, especially those with chronic stress or trauma, your amygdala could actually be hyperactive. Think of it as your brain having a false alarm system. Perhaps you're walking around and you are aware that, oh, my heart is skipping a beat. Or you're at work and you feel like your breathing is changing, your amygdala. If it's overactive, may sound a false alarm triggering a full fight or flight response. Even when there's no danger present. So sometimes panic isn't about what's happening around you. It's about how your brain is learned to scan for danger inside of you. If You're prone or have a history of panic attacks. It's not unusual for your amygdala to go into fight or flight mode when a symptom first appears, and that's why treatment will be so important. The second cause that science tells us is catastrophic thinking and body sensation sensitivity. For some people, perhaps you, a panic attack will often begin when they feel a physical sensation, dizziness, a erasing heart, and they assume the worst. I'm going to die. I'm having a heart attack. I'm going to faint the thought spikes adrenaline, creating a feedback loop that quickly escalates into panic. This can be terrifying and it all happens in just a nanosecond. When you assume the worst about a sensation, your body follows your mind and it can spiral very quickly. If you are a highly sensitive person, HSP, someone who deeply processes emotions, picks up subtle cues and feels overly stimulated, you may be prone to panic attacks. HSPs often notice small shifts in their body or their environment that others often miss, and that heightened awareness while a strength, I actually think of it as a superpower can overload the nervous system. If this sounds like you, I'll be dedicating both episodes next week to a conversation that I am having with an expert on HSPs, so you can become more aware of how your sensitivity can be used as a source of strength not stress. The last cause that science tells us may make you prone to panic attacks is a genetic and biological sensitivity. Some people have a lower threshold for changes in breathing or carbon dioxide levels, making them more reactive to minor shifts, like holding their breath or being in a crowded room. This is especially true for people with underlying medical conditions such as mitral valve prolapse. Thyroid imbalances, blood sugar instability. When I was a new therapist, I had a client who came in with panic attacks that just didn't really fit the typical pattern that I had seen. She didn't report feeling anxious. Her attacks started with a fluttering in her chest and dizziness. I encouraged her to visit her physician and she was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse, which can mimic panic. Once she started treatment, the panic attacks resolved. That's why a medical checkup is so important when panic attacks are new or worsening, sometimes the body, not the mind is the origin. One of the interesting changes in my profession is when I began 40 years ago, most of my clients who had panic attacks we're sure that the cause was a physical problem Today, people are sure that the cause is a psychological problem and I have to encourage them to widen their perspective and seek medical help, With that said, for many people, science is just one piece of the puzzle. Now let's explore the three most common psychosocial stressors that may contribute to your panic attacks. The most common that I've seen as a therapist is unprocessed trauma or chronic stress. Are you carrying emotional burdens from childhood caregiving, past relationships, or trauma? Midlife brings those experiences to the surface. Panic can become your body's way of saying, I can't hold this anymore. This can be really unsettling. I had a client who came to me after a panic attack that seemed to come out of nowhere. She was having a wonderful event at her house, hosting her son's, prom pictures, something that she had really looked forward to right after the party was over, a panic attack came out of nowhere. She was a very high functioning person, and the panic attack left her very confused. She went to her family doc, and the family doc checked her out and said, this really might be more psychological in nature. Why don't you go see MJ One of the intake questions was, was there anything about this event that may connect to something in your past that's uncomfortable or even traumatic? She paused for a long time. And then she said, when I went to my senior prom, I was sexually assaulted. This was something she had never told anyone. Even as she talked to me, she had said, this happened 25 years ago. Why is it coming out now? I just went through it and said I was never gonna look back. I helped her see that the body never forgets. The prom photos triggered her memory and panic was her body's way of asking for healing. She stayed in therapy and that's exactly what she did. If you've ever had a panic attack and thought, where did that come from? You are not alone. I really encourage you to step into your bravery and allow yourself to work with a professional to understand another cause of panic is fear of losing control or appearing weak. Let's face it, there's a lot of identity shifts in midlife. You're expected to keep everything running, work, family, aging, parents, your own health. You may be one of those people that the idea of not being able to balance this makes you feel out of control and appearing weak can cause a sense of panic to emerge within you, especially if your body is run down. I had a client, a CPA come to me at the end of tax season. He had worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for four months. As the tax filing deadline neared, it became apparent to him he would not be able to file all of his client's taxes on time. This led to a panic attack. While you and I both know extensions are common for this professional, he had always prided himself on never once filing an extension. Exhaustion, perfectionism and his rigid expectations made him vulnerable to a panic attack, something he had never had before I shared with him Dan Siegel's model of mental wellness. You can hear it on episode one, this helped him understand that the natural state of his mind is to be calm, alert, and peaceful. But his work had thrown his mind and body on the bank of chaos with too much to do and the bank of rigidity, I can't let anyone down. He learned to reframe his expectations, and he sent his clients emails about the extensions. And none of them complained. He learned to give himself the same grace he gave others. Panic isn't a weakness. It's your body trying to protect you, even if it's overreacting. The last psychosocial cause of panic is lack of emotional support or safe relationships. This is a really common cause of panic, and I think it's one that is often not talked about. One of the best ways to reregulate your body is to share your experiences with someone that often helps you right size how you're thinking about whatever you're struggling with in life When you don't have a way to share your feelings openly, emotional pressure builds and that pressure often emerges as panic. One client, a midlife woman, had lost her partner. In her forties. At first, she had support, but over time it faded. She did her best to move forward, but certain events, weddings, graduation, plumbing, emergencies, triggered deep panic. What she needed wasn't just coping skills, but peers who understood her situation. I encourage her to try online support groups. She joined three and found one that really fit. It helped her manage panic and gave her a sense of community empathy and wisdom that friends and family just couldn't provide. If you've ever felt alone in your anxiety, Know that it's the connection with another person, not the crowd that offers you healing. I encourage people to find that for themselves, but also to be that for others to listen. Really listen. When someone is going through an anxious time to be a person that can help them hold their anxiety is one of the kindest things any of us can do. In today's episode, you learn that panic attacks aren't random. Even if sometimes they feel like they are, they have clear causes, whether they're rooted in brain chemistry, your body, your thought patterns, or your emotional history. I also touched on highly sensitive people and how sensitivity can make you more attuned to the sensations that trigger panic. Yes. Panic attacks are scary, uncomfortable, and often very inconvenient. When you begin to see panic attacks as a messenger, not as an enemy, you open the door to healing, once you know what's contributing to your panic, you can begin building support, insight, and skills that lead to calm. I really want this for you. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to check out the show notes for your free box breathing audio. I'll be back on Monday with more creating midlife calm.