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Panic disorder

Panic disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by panic attacks. Panic attacks are acute and extreme bouts of anxiety with accompanying physical symptoms that last for a brief time. Panic attacks are often a situational feature of other conditions such as phobias, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric disorders. When panic attacks are unprovoked and spontaneous, the condition is called panic disorder. More than one-third of all adults experience a panic attack each year. These are often isolated events in response to external stimuli, which disappear without treatment.

Approximately two percent of the population develops panic disorder in any 12-month period. Panic disorder typically begins in late adolescence and early adulthood. Panic attacks, which occur in patients with panic disorder, are unprovoked and spontaneous. During a panic attack, a person experiences at least four of the following symptoms: choking, dizziness or fainting, loss of control, fear of dying, chest pain, flushes and chills, nausea, dissociation, shortness of breath, sweating, trembling or shaking, increased heart beat, nausea, stomach problems, and feelings of unreality.

When a person with panic disorder develops these frightening and distressing panic attacks without warning, it is natural that they begin to fear the next attack. This worry leads people with panic disorder to suffer added stress and anxiety, called anticipatory anxiety. Panic disorder patients who experience these intense physical symptoms of a panic attack may also worry that they are experiencing a serious medical emergency, since the symptoms affect the vital organs like the heart, lungs, and brain.

In a typical panic attack, symptoms will peak after about ten minutes and slowly taper off within the following minutes. This makes it difficult for a doctor to actually witness and observe a person's symptoms to determine whether or not they have panic disorder. In some cases, a person's symptoms may be mistaken for another medical problem.

A diagnosis of panic disorder is made after a person has experienced two episodes of panic attack followed by at least one month of fear that another panic attack will occur. While this is the established criterion, some people with panic disorder will suffer a panic attack daily while others will suffer a panic attack much less frequently. A physician can make a diagnosis of panic disorder after a careful physical and psychological evaluation, based on their described symptoms.

Both psychotherapy and medication is often used to treat panic disorder. Psychotherapeutic techniques like exposure therapy, education, counseling, and other methods can prove extremely beneficial to people with panic disorder. Medications frequently prescribed for panic disorder include anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs. While these drugs may reduce the frequency of panic attacks, they are also associated with significant side effects including a worsening of adverse psychological symptoms. Use of discontinuation of certain drugs may also produce symptoms similar to those of a panic attack. If you suspect that you may have panic disorder, you might want to discuss your condition and all current medications with your physician.

 

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