These symptoms come on suddenly, out of the blue, without any warning at all, and that's what is so devastating about them. You begin to associate the places you had a panic attack episode with the panic itself. If you begin to avoid those places out of fear of panicking, you might be further hurting yourself - delving into another form of anxiety called Agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia is the terrible fear of going outside, going to any place other than your "safe place"...usually your home.

Panic attacks can lead to depression, too. In fact, statistics show that half of the people who have a panic disorder will, at some time during their life, have clinical depression.

It's seems very unusual to hear that a person is suffering from anxiety and depression at the same time. The two seem as though they would contradict one another, and yet, to a person who is experiencing that whirling cycle of emotion, it can have serious effects on the rest of their lives.

Many people turn to drug or alcohol abuse, avoidance behavior, or develop phobias. A person feels so out of control of their emotions that they'll try anything to feel better, and often not seek medical treatment out of shame, fear of what the doctor may tell them, (fear of there being something horribly wrong with them - as if panic attacks weren't horrible enough!). But the good news is that they don't have to suffer. There are many excellent treatments that can help even the most severe panic disorder sufferer. Treatments that can help within minutes - help over the course of months - but ultimately, help. And that's the important part, that - and knowing that they are NOT alone in feeling the way they do.