Panic and anxiety attacks are on the increase. Nobody knows why there are on the increase but our current stressful lives seem to be a big factor. But the fact remains they are causing more and more people no end of problems.

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 experience a hot sweat or you may experience an attack where you can’t breath and your heart races out of control.

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. These mild symptoms could well be warning signs of something worse to come.

The first (bad) panic attack my wife suffered was actually while she was driving. Needless to say it wasn’t just the actual anxiety attack that frightened her but the fact she could have crashed and killed herself and others. It won’t do anyone any good to dwell on this type of scenario.

If you haven’t been feeling yourself lately, maybe you’ve had one or two of these symptoms… Fidgeting, feeling irritated, hard to sleep, on edge or anxious or lack of concentration. Any of these small signs could be a forewarning that something else is about to hit you.

But before you actually have a panic attack thinking about those symptoms let me put your mind at ease. There are many normal things that can cause symptoms like those. And you shouldn’t worry about them. An ill fitting item of clothing can cause you to fidget and too much coffee (caffeine) will definitely disrupt your sleep.

If you would rather be safe than sorry you can find out if you are heading for anxiety attacks. A panic (anxiety) symptoms test will give you a better idea of whether you are at risk. All you do is tick a few boxes with either yes or no and total your score at the end.

Then you can make the choice to take further action or not. Take the anxiety symptoms test here.