A panic attack is the most severe level of anxiety. Although anxiety itself can be quite a horrible condition to deal with, it is nothing like a full on panic attack which can be a very frightening and debilitating experience. So what are the differences and how does it progress.

Mild anxiety is something that most people have experienced at some point in their lives and can easily be brought on by too much worrying about something. That feeling you get when your mind cannot stop thinking about something, maybe a deadline that becomes a struggle or worrying about exams etc. You might feel uptight and may even notice a change in your breathing pattern.

When anxiety gets out of hand the symptoms can increase quite dramatically. The uptight feeling can turn into a tightness in the chest, breathing becomes very rapid and muscles may tighten up in various parts of the body. Any time we worry or fear something, the body will release more adrenalin into the blood stream and it this overflow of adrenalin that causes the symptoms of anxiety. While this can be unpleasant, it isn't harmful and won't usually stop you going about your day to day activities. If however this happens too often or is allowed to get out of hand then the anxiety can turn to panic.

Our bodies have a natural defence mechanism aptly named "fight or flight" which is something that kicks in when we are in danger. When posed by a threat, a rush of adrenalin is released into our blood stream, our muscles tighten, the rate of breathing speeds up to get more oxygen flowing to the muscles, all of these things to prepare and give us the necessary energy and fast reactions to either run, or face our threat and fight for our lives.

When anxiety becomes severe, the fight or flight response kicks in just as it would when in danger but because we aren't actually under any kind of threat, the natural response is to wonder what is going on. This naturally leads to our mind racing, the worry becomes immense because the feelings are showing all the symptoms of a heart attack and the whole thing escalates out of control, becoming a full blown panic attack.

Many anxiety sufferers can ultimately end up with panic disorder after experiencing their first panic attack, ironically, by worrying too much that they might have another one! At this stage it can become very difficult to manage if left untreated. Luckily anxiety is curable and curing panic attacks can be done by changing habits and practicing relaxation techniques. If you are suffering from panic attacks then you should do something about it fast, they can be stopped but the longer it is left, the harder it becomes.