There are many people who are ashamed of the fact that they suffer panic attacks or anxiety attacks. For this reason they hide away the fact that they suffer these attacks from others, often from their own family. This is a pity as many people find that when they start to talk about their anxiety attacks with members of their immediate family they find that their panic attacks are not just confined to themselves.

Often it seems that anxiety disorders and panic attacks can run in the family, in other words it seems that they can be genetic. It is not unusual for a person seeking help from these attacks to find that their own parent suffers from a very similar condition.

And when someone in the family becomes aware that a family member suffers from some form of anxiety attack or disorder and is having treatment for it they often come forward themselves, despite the fact that no one in the family realised that this was the case.

It is very difficult to study these things as there is usually a stigma associated with panic or anxiety attacks, and they are often not talked about.

It can often be the case that anxiety disorders are inherent in your family and you are not aware of it in either your family or yourself. This may be because you have not experienced an attack yourself. This does not however, mean that you wont. Panic attacks can be brought on unexpectedly by stressful events such as the death of a loved one, severe financial stress like loss of a job, or the burden of sever debt.

Unexpected traumas can bring on panic and anxiety disorders. Traumas such as a car accident, being the victim of a crime, or a major life threatening illness.

It is even possible to find one the victim of unexpected anxiety disorders from happy but stressful events such as getting married, starting a new job or having a family.

For many, when looking back, it is possible to pinpoint a major life event or life stress which started the panic attacks or anxiety attacks when there were none present before that event.

And for others it can be a long slow build up of stress over a longer time that can cause the onset of anxiety problems.

So there can be a wide range of causes of anxiety and panic problems. They can be hereditary, but not necessarily. They can be experienced form an early age though out life, or can suddenly come on from an unexpected life stressor. Alternatively they can result from the slow buildup of life stresses to the point where something seems to break and the anxiety seems to manifest itself.

And these are just some of the causes.

But the good news is that although anxiety and panic attacks can be extremely frightening and intimidating, they are often quite susceptible to treatment. There is no need to suffer in silence.