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You are absolutely correct on the caveman thing--people been stressing for centuries!
When I started having panic attacks, I needed to know what caused them. So, I looked up the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems and how they worked. A caveman's flight or flight response was how it was explained...
Legs feeling like jell-o? Rushing blood so that you could run away faster (from the T-Rex--okay, I am not sure that cavemen and T-Rexs co-existed, but it's a good visual).
Eyesight getting funky? Cornea opening to let in more light so that you can see where you are running!
Hands getting sweaty? Harder for a saber-toothed tiger to hold on to your arm.
Heart beating 90 miles a minute? A rush of adrenaline to, once again, help you run away (from the pteradactyl this time).
It's funny how it all works, and pretty interesting. For me, knowing what the systems were doing and how they worked with each other, helped me to stop being anxious about being anxious!
I swear, a panic attack is the most cardiac workout I get these days. Tee-hee.
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Krista
Diagnosed 3/29/2007 @ age 34
Stage 1, Node Neg. (SNB), Grade 2, 1.4 cm. IDC
ER/PR 90%+ HER2 +
6 TCH started 5/25/2007, ended after #5 due to steroid "reactions" and neuropathy in feet and hands
BUT--#6 CH w/o Taxotere
Begin Herceptin alone 9/28/2007
30 rads completed 12/19/2007
Finish Herceptin 5/9/2008
Stopped Tamoxifen early--HATED it.
Married 17 years
13-year old son
3 embies on ice (from 1999)
GA, USA
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