Panic attacks can affect anyone, from any walk of life. You do not have to have panic attacks as a teenager to have them when you are older. You may even be afflicted with your first panic attack at the age of 45! This can be very disconcerting and alarming, especially for someone who has felt completely in control of themselves up until that moment.

In some instances, the person may not realize they are suffering from a panic attack. Here is a checklist for you to read through to ascertain whether you have indeed experienced a panic attack:

Feeling short of breath, unable to fill your lungs with enough air, breathing very rapidly, or even as if you are choking?

Did you feel very hot, and were perhaps sweating, although this might have been a cold sweat?

Was your head pounding and your heart racing? Perhaps you even had ringing in your ears, and blurred vision?

Did you feel dizzy and nauseous, and completely disconnected from the world around you?

These are some of the physical symptoms you may have experienced, although most sufferers would agree that the emotional effects of a panic attack are far worse. Accompanied by these symptoms, you may even believe that you are experiencing a heart attack! Some sufferers even believe that they are actually going to die, or have literally gone insane. As you are experiencing the panic attack you will feel completely helpless and powerless, and overcome with an overwhelming feeling of terror. These are only some of the symptoms, although the experience itself is much more vivid and frightening, and differs greatly from person to person.

Once you have experienced this horrifying experience, you will no doubt be traumatized. You will live in constant fear that another attack will sneak up on you, and your body's internal bodyguard will work desperately to keep you away from the same situation. Perhaps you were in a shopping centre when you had your panic attack? Now you will be literally physically unable to force yourself to return to a shopping centre. Your logical mind will be telling you to "stop being ridiculous" and "the shopping needs to get done" but your body will have a frightening physical reaction to the idea of returning there!

This is the problem that many panic attack sufferers will experience. They will find themselves walking on eggshells after their panic attack. Any place or circumstance that reminds them of their terrifying experience will make them believe they are going to have another panic attack. Sufferers will even try to avoid activities that will increase their heart rate, because they fear it will trigger the first moments of their panic attack, when their heart raced uncontrollably.

Naturally, this will cause a grave inconvenience in the person's life. You cannot avoid shopping centers, boardrooms, cars or any other place where you feel you may experience a panic attack again. Living in constant fear is exhausting, and eventually the sufferer could fall into depression, and other forms of anxiety disorders. It is imperative that once you have experienced a panic attack, you seek the appropriate help. This will be the first step in combating the fear that you will find yourself living in.