Anxiety attacks are more common than most people realize. When someone starts to experience panic or anxiety attacks, they tend to keep it to themselves and not tell others about it. It is not uncommon to feel a lot of shame related to having anxiety attacks, and many people hide their problem from the world because of this.

Anxiety, panic and stress are the number one health problems in America, so you are definitely not alone in dealing with your anxiety attacks. A panic or anxiety attack can be described as a sudden and intense feeling of fear, accompanied by several types of physical discomfort.

The physical symptoms differ from person to person, but there are a few that are reported by a lot of anxiety sufferers. These symptoms include, but are not necessarily limited to sweating, numbness or tingling in the arms, chills or hot flashes, trembling or shaking, shortness of breath or feeling like you are choking, chest tightness or pain, heart palpitations or fast heart rate, nausea or upset stomach, feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint, feelings of detachment or being in a different reality, fear of losing control or going crazy, fear of dying.

The physical symptoms that come with anxiety attacks are not dangerous, but they can be extremely uncomfortable. Some people are able to keep their panic symptoms hidden when it happens, and others have very visible physical symptoms that others can see. Both types of attacks can be equally painful and scary to go through.

Panic disorder is not the same as anxiety attacks. Anxiety disorder is a diagnosis used when someone is experiencing recurrent anxiety attacks over time and in addition spend time between the attacks worrying about the next one. Anxiety attacks can also occur on their own, and many people only experience a few of them without ever developing panic disorder.

Although it feels like a lot longer, most panic and anxiety attacks peak within ten minutes and pass within twenty to thirty minutes. This doesn't seem like much to someone who has never experienced a panic attacks, but when you are in that situation, it can feel like it'll never end. It may help however, to look at our watch when you are experiencing anxiety attacks and remind yourself that it will not go on for very long. This can give you some comfort, and it can help ground you to "reality" so you're not as inward focused.

Panic and anxiety attacks do not only occur in adults. Even though they are often overlooked, the medical community is starting to realize that anxiety and panic is also quite common in children and teens. It can be difficult to recognize anxiety attack in children because they don't have the same ability to communicate what they are experiencing as adults have.

It is suspected that a lot of the psychological problems people experience as adults really start when they are children. Fortunately, anxiety in children is very treatable when it is taken seriously and given the proper medical attention.

Panic and anxiety attacks can feel very traumatic and they can seriously limit your life if you let them. Fortunately, anxiety treatment has very good results, and the majority of anxiety sufferers are cured of their symptoms.