Have you experienced a racing or pounding heartbeat, chest pains, a fear of dying, dreamlike sensations or sense of unreality or even overwhelming terror? If your answer is "yes'' you have most likely been overcome by a panic attack -- maybe without even knowing what it was. Most people who have had panic or anxiety attacks often think they are experiencing heart attacks. And many Bermudians have had such attacks. However it's a health problem that is kept in the closet due to shame and embarrassment. Irene Parris, who has suffered from panic attacks and recently founded the Anxiety and Panic Disorder support group -- which has its first meeting this evening -- said symptoms for the attacks "suddenly strike out of the blue''. "There is a lot of research being done on panic attacks which may be linked to certain personalities and genetics -- a parent might have it,'' Mrs. Parris said. She added that the National Institute of Mental Health states that a panic disorder is a serious health problem in the US. Between three and six million adult Americans will have panic disorder at some time in their lives. "They are strikingly different from other types of anxiety in that panic attacks are so sudden, appear to be unprovoked, and are often disabling.'' Symptoms may include: racing or pounding heartbeat; chest pains; dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea; difficulty breathing; tingling or numbness; flushes or chills; dreamlike sensations or feelings of unreality; overwhelming terror; fear of losing control or doing something embarrassing; fear of dying A panic attack typically lasts for several minutes and is one of the most distressing conditions that a person can experience. Most who have one attack will have others. "I have organised an initial meeting to see if there is an interest. I want to educate people about this because people don't know what they have they just know they have something due to symptoms,'' Mrs. Parris said. She also said she has learned that ten percent of people in Bermuda rushing to hospital because they think they are suffering from a heart attack are really having panic attacks. "It's amazing how many people have it from celebrities to everyday people,'' Mrs. Parris said. She added: "Five percent of people have them in their sleep, but most people get them anywhere and everywhere which then causes you to start avoiding places that you have an attack in like certain grocery stores, and the bank. "A lot of doctors don't even know what this is and they don't recommend the right thing. When I was finally diagnosed a doctor told me it was a chemical imbalance of the brain and something happens with the nerve endings at the base of the brain. "He gave me medication which helped me to get a hold of myself and then I got educated and that is what really helped.'' Mrs. Parris said that was her motivation to create a support group. "Therapists treated me for depression and it wasn't depression. I always felt like I was having a lung problem and it was hard for me to breath. I also had back pains. "I had panic attacks for two years severely after they started seven years ago but I now know that I have been having them all my life in some form or the other.'' She added that this health problem is definitely no stranger to Bermuda. "The doctor that diagnosed me said he sees hundreds of people a week including doctors and lawyers that suffer from panic attacks. "There are two main ways of treating it and they are medication and cognitive behavioural therapy which is when you talk to yourself, calming yourself down.'' Mrs. Parris said the way to understand this problem is to imagine experiencing terror, absolute fear sometimes on a daily basis. "This can really be debilitating, and your senses become more alert.'' She added that agoraphobia -- when a person feels their home is the only safe place -- is the advance stage of panic attacks. "When I suffered from panic attacks my car would be my safe place I would go to a certain grocery store and if I felt one coming on I would sit in my car until I felt better. Afterwards you would be left feeling exhausted.'' Mrs. Parris said at the meeting tonight, psychotherapist Carol Schuman, who also suffered from panic attacks, will talk about what they are and what to do when you have them. "There are no self-help support groups on the Island and there is really a need for one,'' Mrs. Parris said, "I am hoping to educate doctors, therapists and people themselves about the problem.'' She added: "There will be many guidelines in the support group, it will not be about sitting and talking about symptoms, we will have goal setting and information and most of all we will be supporting one another.'' The meeting will be held at 7.30 p.m.

at the First Baptist Church hall on Middle Road in Devonshire. For more information, call 295-9923.

SUPPORT -- Mrs. Irene Parris is heads up a new support group for those suffering panic attacks.