Many people call everything “panic”. In doing so, they mix up a panic attack with a lasting state of anxiety – and so often misread their own experience. I would like to describe it as simply as possible.
The difference is crucial. Not in theory, but in the body!
A panic attack is an acute stress response of the autonomic nervous system. The body switches into alarm in a flash: heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, adrenaline – everything shoots up. This reaction doesn’t arise in the head, it arises in the body.
A state of anxiety, by contrast, is slower and lasts longer. It is often linked with brooding, tension and a constant inner uncertainty – less explosive, but more chronic. What is often overlooked is the role of cell health. Cells need energy, oxygen and stable metabolic processes. If the body is under constant stress, inflamed, overloaded or short of energy, the nervous system reacts more quickly and more sensitively.
With panic, this often shows up as a low stress tolerance: the body tips into alarm quickly because its reserves are low.
With anxiety, a lasting state of arousal tends to develop – the cells stay in “constant stress” and recovery doesn’t happen.
Neither is a personal failure. It is biology.
How often is your body in anxiety or panic mode?