What would cause a beautiful, successful confident woman to have bad anxiety attacks?

We can’t always know what’s happening in other people’s lives that would cause them to have mental health issues.

The human brain is incredibly complex. There may be a number of factors at play in your friend’s life.

1) She may have a genetically-inherited predisposition, whereby her responses to work or other stressful conditions manifest outwardly in this way.
2) She may have a chemical imbalance – possibly from overwork, stress, diet, or substance intake – which is showing up as anxiety.
3) She may have depression, which can manifest as anxiety.

Whatever the reason, it’s important to remember that beautiful, successful women are not immune from the pressures of daily life. In fact, the opposite may be true.

We live in a day and age where expectations upon young people are far beyond reasonable. It’s an era of instant gratification, transient acquaintances, and material goals. The pressure on all of us to fit into this constantly-evolving society is greater than ever before.

Family structure and stable societal values are no longer the safety net they once were. Mentors are now few and far between.

Gently suggest to your friend that she should see a doctor or therapist. Don’t alienate her by being pushy because people with anxiety are prone to be ultra-sensitive to anything they perceive to be criticism or advice.

Whatever the problem, anxiety is usually the "canary in the coal-mine’. It is a signal that there are deeper, more complex issues beneath the surface. But don’t be too worried – these are very common symptoms nowadays.

Anxiety, agoraphobia, depression, and their associated stress-initiated conditions are treatable and, often, curable.

You thinking you’re so awesome is probably getting to your head and ****ing it up

Are you serious? Problems with anxiety do not care what you look like, or how successful you are. I had problems with them as a teen, after my friends father abused me when I was 12. It happens to a lot of people. I never saw a therapist. I just got over it, but it took a while.

Anxiety is a universal phenomenon. The adjectives you used in the question could be self deceptive. Check that first.

It has to do with the brain chemistry associated with the psychology of that person.. It’s really complex so the reasons are usually not plain psychological or plain physical. They both contribute to these panic attacks. Probably a result of a bad experience. Just support your friend and stay nest to her side by side whenever she get into a place or a situation as of which cause her anxiety.
She should seek a therapist that can help her and figure out the causes better than me and anyone else on yahoo answers ever will.
I hope she feels better.