Why Panic Often Sends Us to Medical Specialists

Because panic attacks can cause so many uncomfortable and frightening physical sensations, from heart palpitations to lightheadedness to frequent urination (not to mention the slew of others), those of us who struggle with panic often find ourselves in medical settings searching for answers to the question “why is my body doing this?” This question is often accompanied by a fear that something is catastrophically wrong and that our health is in imminent danger.

This search for reassurance often leads us to seek out medical specialists who can rule out the terrifying possibilities that our anxiety draws, such as stroke, heart attack, neurological disease, or some other dire illness or disease. The problem is that this reassurance-seeking, while understandable, is often misguided, as panic and anxiety are the actual source of our physical symptoms, rather than some debilitating illness. Nevertheless, we seek out medical specialists who can give us answers, and there are a few who are commonly visited by people who experience panic-based physical discomfort. Understanding why these specialists are frequently visited and the physical sensations that send us to them, can help us to cultivate a more balanced approach to medical reassurance-seeking.

1. Neurologists

One of the most visited specialists by people with panic is the neurologist, for the simple fact that they treat many of the physical sensations experienced by individuals with panic, such as balance problems, tingling and numbness, headaches, and chronic pain. Furthermore, they treat the very issues that many people with panic incorrectly conclude that they have, such as strokes, epilepsy, and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. People who suffer from panic attacks are often referred to neurologists due to the symptoms they report, most of which seem connected to the brain.

2. Urologists

Panic attacks affect every muscular system in the body, including the bladder, which can result in frequent urination or the urge to urinate even when you do not actually need to. This uncomfortable sensation can send people to the urologist to determine if there is a deeper issue such as a problem with the prostate, bladder, testicles, or kidneys. Physical sensations in the bladder can often cause us to draw catastrophic conclusions such as fears of bladder cancer, incontinence, or kidney stones, thus leading to visits to urological specialists to find reassurance.

3. Cardiologists

Many people who struggle with panic will report having visited a cardiologist, having undergone a stress test or worn a heart monitor and having had EKGs and other tests. The reason is simple: many panic-related somatic sensations occur in the chest, including heart palpitations, chest tightness, and rapid heartbeat. These chest sensations are particularly unsettling, as they suggest catastrophic, even fatal outcomes such as cardiac arrest or heart attacks. Cardiologists are often visited by individuals who experience panic sensations in the chest and heart.

Understanding Care-Seeking Behaviors

While we certainly should stay on top of our physical health and visit doctors if we suspect there is something wrong, there is an important caveat in terms of panic: because panic produces what are known as “somatic mimics,” or physical sensations that mimic more serious medical conditions, we must be mindful that not every uncomfortable physical sensation warrants a specialist visit. If we overuse or over-rely on the medical profession to soothe our anxiety-driven physical sensations, we fall into what is known diagnostically as exhibiting “care-seeking” behaviors, a maladaptive coping mechanism. For some people, this can mean countless (yet unnecessary) visits to doctors, unneeded tests and scans, and sometimes significant financial consequences. This type of care-seeking is not a behavior of manipulation but, rather, one born of desiring safety and reassurance. The problem is that it can become compulsive, habitual, and disruptive to one’s daily life (not to mention taxing on the medical system). The irony is that as much as the anxious person wants this care-seeking to provide reassurance, it often does the opposite as tests and scans come back negative and specialists fail to identify any significant medical issues. The anxious patient is often left even more anxious.

Knowing When It’s Panic

While there is no exact recipe for identifying the difference between a panic-driven somatic mimic and an actual medical issue, here are some points to keep in mind to ensure that you are visiting medical specialists out of necessity and not out of anxiety:

• Uncomfortable physical symptoms and sensations do not automatically indicate deeper medical issues. When I experience anxiety and panic, I often feel it in my chest, which becomes tight and heavy. I have learned over time that although these sensations are unpleasant, they are not indicative of something catastrophic like a heart attack. I try to keep in mind that uncomfortable does not equal emergent and that a visit to a medical specialist is not necessarily warranted.
• You can get to know your somatic mimics. Knowing where in your body you uniquely tend to experience the physical manifestations of panic can help you to be measured in how you respond. For instance, if you know that anxiety and panic tend to show up in your bladder, you can learn to identify and acknowledge when you are feeling the anxiety-driven sensations in that part of your body without treating it like a medical emergency or rushing to a urologist.
• Stay on top of your yearly and scheduled medical appointments. By keeping a regular schedule of normal medical appointments, such as yearly check-ups, you can maintain an ongoing awareness of your physical health and stay abreast of any significant changes or concerns. By doing this, you limit the unknowns that often exacerbate body-based anxiety and worry.