Many people live their lives having little happen to them out of the ordinary. Some of us however lead a very exciting, if not emotional life caused by unannounced and unwanted anxiety panic attacks. This isn't to say that those who suffer from panic are having a good time if only because they can't control the feelings, circumstances or timing of the panic.

A panic or anxiety attack for many feels like a heightened sense of awareness. Physical symptoms may include your heart racing, and face flushes, shortness of breath, and an almost dizzying array of feelings that can make someone nauseous. A very common symptom of panic is a sense of impending death. This is caused by the very real physical symptoms triggered by an emotional or mental state that's very overwhelming. Rather than the kind of adrenaline rush excitement, one might get from riding a roller coaster, a panic attack comes on without warning.

Believe it or not panic attacks are actually part of our basic survival instinct. Many panic researchers believe that these attacks may be caused by your body triggering the fight or flight survival response. When a person is in a situation that they have identified as dangerous, the body may start preparing itself for a potential life-threatening situation. The rapid heartbeat, skin flush and shortness of breath are all typical symptoms of an adrenaline rush.

Adrenaline is a hormone that can place your body into a fight or flight preparation and response to an identified life threatening scenario. The bodily changes are designed to get us prepared to run away from a situation or to fight and neutralize the problem. Either way our bodies need to be placed on edge and be ready to react to whatever happens.

Panic attack sufferers however can experience this same fight or flight bodily preparation without warning. Panic attack can show up while doing even mundane things such as walking the dog or reading a book. Imagine walking down to pick up the mail and having all the symptoms of a full adrenaline rush wash over your body. This can happen at any time or anyplace for someone suffering with anxiety or panic attacks.

Anxiety or panic disorder can degenerate into a very debilitating situation. Fearing another panic attack, many people will begin to avoid situations where an attack may have occurred previously. This causes more problems as sufferers will start to avoid normal situations such as checking the mail are going to the mall. The fear of the possibility of another anxiety attack can drive many to modifying their behavior thereby making the potential situation much worse.

Panic disorders can develop into serious mental health issues. It's critical that if you suffer regularly from panic that you seek professional help.