Some people experience panic attacks, characterized by extreme feelings of fear. These are not at all uncommon. Symptoms often experienced during a panic attack include palpitations, rapid breathing, dizziness, unsteadiness, and a feeling of impending death. Those with agoraphobia, a fear of being alone or of public places, often know that they can go out or can be alone, but are afraid of having a panic attack.
As "psychological" as this sounds, there is a biochemical imbalance behind many people's anxiety attacks, apart from, or as well as, any psychological factors. It’s too much lactic acid. When muscles don't get enough oxygen, they make energy from glucose without it. The trouble is there's a byproduct called lactic acid. As strange as this might seem, giving those prone to anxiety attacks lactic acid can induce an anxiety attack.
One way to increase lactic acid levels is to hyperventilate. Many people will do this when they're experiencing anxiety attacks. Hyperventilation changes the acid level of the blood by altering the balance of carbon dioxide. The body responds by producing more lactic acid. The solution is to breathe into a paper bag during a hyperventilation attack and concentrate on breathing deeply for a minute. This helps redress the balance. Moments of blood sugar dips can also both bring on hyperventilation and increase lactic acid. So, keep your blood sugar level even by eating little and often. Finally, deficiency in vitamin B, stops the body from breaking down glucose properly, again promoting lactic acid. So, make sure you are supplementing with a good B complex or multivitamin. Also, check yourself out for food allergies. These are the most common biochemical imbalances that can lead to panic attacks.
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