Yes, panic attacks can occur for no reason. Panic attacks can occur spontaneously, and do not have to be triggered by anything. They can wake you when you are sleeping. They can occur when you are sitting in your chair watching television. They can occur when you are out in public. They can occur when you are in the middle of the woods. Panic attacks do not need a reason to occur.
Panic attacks can occur anytime and anywhere. Because panic attacks can occur for no reason, and can occur anytime, anywhere, it makes you anticipate and worry about the next panic attack occurring. And because the panic attacks can occur anytime, you start to worry all times of the day and night when they might recur next. You might start to watch the clock, anticipating the next panic attack happening. This leads to another type of anxiety- anticipatory anxiety- where you constantly worry about the next panic attack recurring.
And because panic attacks can occur anywhere, you start to avoid all the previous places you had a panic attack. If you had a panic attack at the mall, you avoid the mall. If you had a panic attack in the grocery store, you avoid the grocery store. If you had a panic attack in the park, you avoid the park. Soon, you start to avoid going anywhere altogether, and you develop a separate condition, called agoraphobia, where you just avoid going out as you have a fear of having a panic attack if you go out. So you end up isolating yourself to your home, unable to work or to take care of yourself. You then are disabled, and require the help of other people to care for you.
Because panic attacks occur for no reason, you really are not able to pinpoint when the next one or where the next one will recur. If you don’t treat the panic attacks, then you may develop agoraphobia and avoid leaving your home altogether. For more information and help on panic attacks, please click here.
