A panic attack can come in the form of dizziness, sweating, heart palpitations, or a fear of loss of control. It is a very real and very scary occurrence a person can have. Some people experience them every single day, and others, only once a year. No matter how often it happens, a panic attack is often seriously debilitating to a person’s state of mind and can hinder everyday life.

According to Wrongdiagnosis.com, panic attack symptoms can be “so severe that many first-time sufferers believe they are having a heart attack or are dying”. Panic disorder can manifest itself in several ways other than the initial attacks. In fact, Wrong Diagnosis lists 40+ symptoms that can occur.

J.C.*, a 25-year old Queens, NY resident and sufferer of panic attacks, has taken various medications to control her symptoms throughout the years and still struggles with anxiety. “It wasn’t until my 20s that I was diagnosed with panic disorder, although I think the attacks were happening long before then, I just didn’t know what they were,” she said.

Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million American adults ages 18 and older, or about 18.1% of the population, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). However, because of a stigma attached to anxiety and getting therapy, many people either don’t discuss their problems or don’t get the treatment they might need.

Panic disorder can cause lack of focus at work, sleep deprivation, or an inability to handle stress, making functioning in everyday life next to impossible. In fact, according NIMH, mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the US and Canada for ages 15-44.

Despite what some may think about mental illness meaning a person is “crazy,” mental illness is actually more harmful to the sufferer than to the people around them. Medications or therapy can be used to control the anxiety, but it is still a constant, ongoing struggle for the sufferer.

“I was put through a plethora of medication. I found the fast acting ones to be the best,” said J.C., citing Klonopin as the most effective for her particular condition. Indeed, SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) are geared towards general anxiety and depression while certain drugs are designed to be taken only when a panic attack or agitation occurs.

In addition to medication, doctors always recommend extra work: writing about anxiety in a journal, exercising, or relaxing are things that will help take the mind off of stress. “I have found running to be an amazing outlet for anxiety,” J.C. said. “Being able to pour my stress, anxiety, and passion into one focused event has taken a lot of power away from my attacks.”

As for whom J.C. chooses to talk to about her anxiety, it is not something she wishes to broadcast.

“I can be selective about who I share with. I don’t want people automatically thinking I’m not good in stressful situations or that there is something wrong with me…it’s more of my body and mind deciding I’m in danger and reacting inappropriately,” she explained, citing an activity like sleeping or watching TV as a situation that can produce panic, even if it is not outwardly stressful.

There is no specific cause of anxiety disorder that can be pinpointed among a group. While Helpguide.org states that the tendency to have panic attacks runs in families, the site also states: “There also appears to be a connection with major life transitions such as graduating from college and entering the workplace, getting married and having a baby.”

“I’m not sure what caused my attacks. I know I have never dealt with stress well,” J.C. said. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve had massive headaches, tense shoulders, and a majorly upset stomach.”

Kristen Chumley, a 26-year-old Maryland resident as well as a wife and mother, started suffering from attacks much earlier, when she was just 12 years old. “I had a lot of change in my life at 12,” she said. “My parents got divorced, and my mom moved us in with her boyfriend, who wound up being my stepfather. I just started middle school and was in a new town.”

Chumley found that her first experience of panic was directly triggered by someone vomiting in front of her. “From that point on, I got panic attacks regularly, once a day sometimes. Before then, I had never experienced such a thing.”

Chumley’s parents eventually put her in therapy, and she learned that she had panic disorder in addition to emetophobia, an irrational reaction or fear to vomiting.

“My parents thought I was going crazy,” she said of her loss of appetite that occurred at the time. “I was very much a loner, which almost made it worse, but I didn’t want to burden anyone with my problems.” Chumley found that brief outpatient therapy and Xanax (which she now takes very rarely) helped her ward off attacks.

“It did get better as I got older and [I became] more skilled in how to manage the attacks. For example, I know nighttime can bring a panic attack on so I make sure I really mellow out before bed.”

While there are definitely more resources out there for anxiety sufferers today than there were 20 years ago, it still remains a largely unrecognized problem in society. It affects a sizable portion of the population but it some cases, it is still not discussed and often goes undiagnosed. While panic disorder is a very real disease that may always be with a person, it can be treated, and quality of life can improve with knowledge about your disorder and ways to help yourself.

The one comfort panic sufferers can find for themselves is the community that’s opening up: people are out there talking about their problems and they are willing to listen to others. If nothing else, hope and an ear that’s willing to listen may be a bit of comfort on those especially tough days.

*Name has been changed.