Panic and anxiety attacks are on the increase. Who knows whether it’s our modern more stressful way of life or not. No matter the cause, they are increasing and causing more people more problems than ever.

Would you recognise a panic attack if you had one? That’s a hard one as the symptoms are wide ranging and can be quite mild, although they can also be terrifying. You may just feel a bit of a hot sweat. But you may also feel like your heart is bursting out of your chest.

I’m sure if you were having the latter symptoms you would be aware right now that you are having panic attacks and need help to stop them. If your symptoms are mild though, you may not even realise it’s a panic or anxiety attack. This could be a warning sign that things are about to get worse, much worse.

The first (bad) panic attack my wife suffered was actually while she was driving. It wasn’t the fact she had suffered an attack that hit her worst, but the fact she could easily have hit and killed someone or maybe even herself. This scenario just doesn’t bear thinking about.

If you haven’t been feeling yourself lately, maybe you’ve had one or two of these symptoms… Feeling anxious or on edge, can’t sleep, can’t concentrate, can’t sit still or feeling irritated. Having any of these mild symptoms could be a warning sign.

Before you actually get into a panic about these symptoms let me assure you there are many things that can cause these symptoms. And none of them are anything to worry about. An ill fitting item of clothing can cause you to fidget and too much coffee (caffeine) will definitely disrupt your sleep.

However if you think you may want to delve further and check out if you are a potential anxiety attack victim. A panic (anxiety) symptoms test will give you a better idea of whether you are at risk. The test involves answering yes or no to a few questions and adding your score up at the end.

Then you can decide if you need to take further action. You can find a panic attack symptoms test here.