You have your hotdogs and buns for the barbeque; the line has been long although there is only one customer between you and the cashier. When a strange sensation begins to creep over you, as your throat begins to tighten as you take a hard swallow. Then your chest begins to tighten and you feel short of breath. You feel your heart take a skip that leaves you feeling as if you want to disappear. Not here, you plead inside, not here.

Your eyes quickly scan your surrounding as you check to see if there is any personal threat. Pins and needles prick at your right shoulder as you become over conscious of the four strangers who have slipped up behind you and the person standing in your way of purchase and freedom from this situation. Your head then begins the slow explosion of fear that now has you a little dizzy as you dread the worse. A panic attack is about to come over you.

You begin to panic even more, as you wonder if this is the big episode that will take you to your knees gasping for breath. Stop right there and begin to focus on the procedures you have learned concerning coping techniques. As your physician has recommended, begin your deep breathing exercises. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Think relaxing thoughts, and again, while breathing in, think "Relax," and then breathe out. But it doesn't seem to be having any positive effect; in fact, just concentrating on breathing is making you feel self-conscious and more uptight.

Okay, coping technique 2: Gradual muscle relaxation. Tense both shoulders, hold for 10 seconds, then release. Try it again. No; still no difference. The anxiety is getting worse and the very fact that you are out of coping techniques worsens your panic. If only you were surrounded by your family, or a close friend were beside you so you could feel more confident in dealing with this situation.

Your body stings with the tingling as adrenaline pumps faster in your body, you then feel the terror of losing your complete control right there in the check out line. However, for those around you it is just another day and they have no sense of how you are feeling.

If you feel you are out of options, the next coping procedure is to flee. Simply excuse yourself from the line as you are now slightly embarrassed as it is not your turn at the register. A disorientated cashier watches as you lay your shopping behind on her counter, as you escape the freedom of the location of this attack as you exit the door. Once out of the supermarket you get into your car and begin to ride it out alone. You struggle within as you wonder, could this be the big one. The attack you fear most, one that will push you past your limits both physically and mentally. The panic subsides within ten minutes or so. Nevertheless, it is only ten in the morning. You wonder how you will make it through the entire day.

If you suffer from panic or anxiety attacks, the above scenario probably sounds very familiar. It may have even induced feelings of anxiety and panic just reading it. The particular situations that trigger your panic and anxiety may differ; maybe the bodily sensations are a little different. Or maybe it happened to you for the first time on a plane, in the dentist chair, or even at home, while doing nothing in particular.

Hopefully, you can take comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and that everyone experiences that same acute sense of approaching horror when experiencing an anxiety attack. It is a feeling so strong that you may feel as though you are about to perish on the spot or lose your mind altogether.

You are by no means alone; you're not even one in a million. In America, it is estimated that almost 5% of the population suffer from some form of anxiety disorder. For some, it may be the infrequent panic attacks that only crop up in particular situations-like when having to speak in front of others, while, for other people, it can be so frequent and recurring that it inhibits them from leaving their home. Frequent panic attacks often develop into what medical physicians refer to as an "anxiety disorder."

The beginning of your recovery starts here. What you will learn is that there is a very good chance you are about to end the cycle of panic attacks in your life. You will learn not only to regain the carefree life you remember once having, but will also gain new confidence in living. Your answer to living free from "panic" or "anxiety attacks" is at hand.

The trick to panic attacks is wanting to have one-the wanting pushes it away. Can you have a panic attack in this very second? No! You know the saying that "what you resist, persists." Well that saying applies perfectly to fear. If you resist a situation out of fear, the fear around that issue will persist. How do you stop resisting - you move directly into it, into the path of the anxiety, and by doing so it cannot persist.

In essence what this means is that if you daily voluntarily seek to have a panic attack, you cannot have one. Try in this very moment to have a panic attack and I will guarantee you cannot. You may not realize it but you have always decided to panic. You make the choice by saying this is beyond my control.

The good news is, in all reality you cannot be harmed by a panic attack. Even though your heart is racing, you will not be harmed. You are perfectly safe and you can control your emotions.