There are many different symptoms of panic and anxiety. There are volumes and volumes of information on those symptoms – I won’t repeat them here but I will point out the more common ones.

For the few who have not experienced this phenomenon – here is one way to explain just what happens internally when someone experiences an attack.

Shake a bottle of champagne and then remove the wire cage which keeps the cork in place – that is exactly what happens once the suppressed feelings have no more space to hide.

Consider the bottle your head, the champagne your brain and the bubbles your emotions. There is only so much your emotions can be held in check before they find their way out again. They need to be expressed and your subconscious mind wants them to be expressed. It is your conscious mind which is scared of what these emotions may reveal about yourself once they are exposed to the scrutiny of others – this causes anxiety and the closer they get to being revealed – panic.

We are all under the impression that who we are – is our true selves. But are we? Most of the time we are not.

Life, in all it’s majestic beauty and miraculous wonder – can be downright complicated and demanding.

Trying to be true to yourself is a constant battle. Who are you? Who do you want to be?

Unfortunately we are surrounded by pointing fingers and naysayers. Most people go through identity crisis’ constantly in their lifetime. How people respond to these crises’ is unique to each individual.

Nature and nurture each have their own impact on how each person responds to life’s endless questions.  As children we dream about extraordinary lives. We have heros all around us performing great feats, life saving acts and watch as adulation falls upon them; the adulation each child, adult and living being secretly or openly desires.

Somewhere along the line we are dissuaded from chasing extraordinary by well meaning realists – who point us in the direction of ordinary.

As a kid I grew up wanting to be a baseball player, an actor, a singer or a writer – but was told that it’s far fetched and to “stop dreaming.”

I knew a friend who grew up wanting to be in the medical, or legal field only to be told that she was not smart enough and that it would be a waste of time and money.

These desires never go away, they are stored in the attic of one’s consciousness. As time rolls on – life’s frustrations, failures, heartbreak and hopelessness join in the magma to form a lethal cocktail. Once the eruption begins it never stops. The eruption can happen at an obvious juncture in one’s life when pressures are mounting or it can happen seemingly out of nowhere or at least nowhere the person can predict.