For a great many people around the world, living in fear of when their next panic attack might turn up is much worse than experiencing the symptoms themselves. We feel tense about our normal daily tasks, worried that we could lose control of ourselves and the situation at any time. Simple day-to-day activities like driving a car or going to the shops become big issues and sometimes it seems better to avoid them altogether.nnWe are, of course, our own worst enemy. We know this. We start feeling anxious, so we think that we're going to have an episode, so we feel more anxious and often end up bringing on the panic attack that we were trying to avoid. Human beings don't like being out of control. It feels unsafe. Being Familiar With what we're facing makes us feel more secure, and comprehending the nature of our anxiety will make us feel safe too. nnThe panic attack response is intended to save your life. Human beings have 75 million years of evolution which has equipped us for survival. Cars and shopping centers have barely been around any time at all compared to that, so we haven't had time to adjust to the much safer environment in which we live. We all have triggers built into our unconscious minds that can send us into panic, with the sole purpose of getting us away from life-threatening situations. We don't have time to think about it, waiting to think it over in your brain just means more time being near the life-threatening situation, so our unconscious brain takes over. It swamps the body with hormones that ready it for 'fight or flight', increasing the heart rate and oxygen intake, heightening senses and readying muscles for sudden movement. The trouble is that these effects in themselves can increase the level of anxiety that you are feeling. When your heart starts racing, it can feel like you're having a heart attack; when your body is craving more oxygen, it can feel like you are suffocating; increasing the rate of breathing can lead to hyperventilation and dizziness. Determining the cause and purpose of our panic attacks can help us to see through some common myths about them, which will leave us feeling less anxious:nnYou Are Not Having a Heart Attack - though it may feel odd, your heart is designed to react in this way during a panic attack. It is getting you ready to run away from danger or to fight for your survival. Unless you have a pre-existing heart condition, there is next to no risk to your heart.nnYou Are Not Choking - your feeling of breathlessness is because your body is asking for more oxygen in case you need to run for your life. You are actually less likely to suffocate during a panic attack because your breathing is working harder than normal.nnYou Are Very Unlikely to Lose Consciousness - it wouldn't be much of an evolutionary defence if it made you fall on the floor at the first sight of danger. You feel giddy because you are hyperventilating, taking in much more oxygen than usual.nnYou Are Not Out of Control - though it feels like you don't have any control over your body, your brain is still completely in charge. The unconscious part of your mind has just taken over in order to get you away from trouble.nnYou Will Not Collapse, However Weak You Feel - the weakness in your arms and legs, along with shaking, is actually just the muscles getting ready to do desperate things to get you out of danger. You are, in fact, stronger and faster under these circumstances than at any other time.nnAll sufferers know the intensely unpleasant feeling of having a anxiety reaction, but controlling our own fear of them is half of the battle to stopping them altogether.nn