Panic disorder is a psychiatric condition in which the individual experiences the unexpected occurrence of panic attacks that are set off by no particular reason. These attacks are extremely distressing for the patient and can cause a great deal of emotional and physical agony. They seem to come out of the blue and are extremely frightening and trigger a sense of loss of control in the individual. A person might have one or two panic attacks in a lifetime, but if the frequency of these attacks is increased, the individual might be suffering from a panic disorder.

Panic disorder can be disabling for the patient and causes significant distress that impairs the normal functioning in day to day life at physical, emotional, social and personal levels.

Diagnosis of Panic disorder:

The individual is said to have a panic disorder when he/she has experienced recurrent and unexpected panic attacks and is constantly worried about having another attack. This worry may lead to the disruption of normal functioning in daily life as the individual might avoid certain situations or places wherein an outbreak would be embarrassing or escape would be impossible. If the anxiety and distress continues for about a month it is known as panic disorder.

Symptoms of Panic Disorder:

The various symptoms of panic attack include shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness, fainting, depersonalization or de-realization, fear of dying, feeling of losing control, increased sweating and a feeling of crashing.

Panic attacks are unexpected and are not provoked by any notable stressors in the immediate situation. They may occur at times or in places where they are the least expected.

An individual can also have panic attacks while sleeping.

Panic attacks can also be situational. This means that they occur only when an individual is in a specific situation such as while driving, in a crowd, in a bus or in an elevator.

The downright terror of the panic attack subsides within minutes.

A number of individuals experiencing panic attacks are unable to identify them and often show up in clinical settings with complaints of various medical problems including cardiac, respiratory and neurological symptoms. As per a recent study, almost 30- to 60 percent of individuals with chest pain syndrome and normal coronary arteries are known to have a previously diagnosed panic disorder.