You're standing quietly in a checkout line, or driving down the highway, perhaps having lunch with a friend. All of a sudden, your heart begins to pound, you feel faint and wobbly, your hands start to tremble and a wave of terror descends over you. You are sure you're on the verge of fainting, having a heart attack, dying or at the very least going crazy.

What just happened ? The chances are, you just had a panic attack, an event that's surprisingly common. As many as 40% of all adults will experience at least one panic attack, and close to one in ten will develop panic disorder (repeated episodes of panic) at some time during their lives.

Panic attacks are one of the things that most survivors of childhood sexual abuse suffer from at some stage of their life. The following articles may be of help in enabling you to understand what panic attacks are and how best to cope with them.

Although our articles are aimed at  sexual abuse survivors who have panic attacks, they may also be of help to others who suffer from panic attacks as well.