A Guide to Mental Disorders

Panic Disorder ☆

Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. These episodes occur "out of the blue," not in conjunction with a known fear or stressor.

What is a panic attack?
A panic attack causes sudden, temporary feelings of fear and strong physical reactions in response to ordinary, non threatening situations. When you're having a panic attack, you may sweat a lot, have difficulty breathing and feel like your heart's racing. It may feel like you're having a heart attack.

Panic attacks are the main feature of panic disorder. But they can happen alongside other conditions, such as:
- Anxiety disorders.
- Mood disorders.
- Phobias.
- Psychotic disorders.
- Substance use disorders.
- Trauma- and stressor-related disorders.
- Certain medical conditions.

While panic attacks by themselves aren't dangerous or harmful to your health, frequent attacks can lead to a decrease in your quality of life and other issues.

What's the difference between a panic attack and an anxiety attack?
The main difference is that certain stressors often trigger anxiety attacks, and they may build up gradually. In contrast, panic attacks typically happen unexpectedly and suddenly.

Anxiety often causes physical symptoms, such as a racing heart or knots in your stomach. But these symptoms are generally less intense and last longer than a panic attack, which has very intense but brief symptoms.

What is panic disorder?
Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that involves multiple unexpected panic attacks. A main feature of panic disorder is that the attacks usually happen without warning and aren't due to another mental health or physical condition. There's often not a specific trigger for them.

Not everyone who experiences a panic attack develops panic disorder.

How common are panic attacks?
Panic attacks are common. Every year, up to 11% of people in the United States experience a panic attack.

Approximately 2% to 3% of people in the U.S. have panic disorder. People assigned female at birth (AFAB) are two times more likely to have panic disorder than people assigned male at birth (AMAB).

What are the symptoms of a panic attack?
A panic attack happens suddenly. Symptoms usually peak within 10 minutes after it starts and then disappear soon after. Physical symptoms of a panic attack include:
- Chest pain.
- Racing heart.
- Difficulty breathing, such as hyperventilation.
- Trembling or shaking.
- Chills.
- Nausea.
- Sweating.
- Tingling or numbness in your fingers or toes.

You may feel:
- Intense terror.
- A choking or smothering sensation.
- Fear of losing control.
- Like you're going to die.
- Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (feeling detached from yourself).

Panic attacks are very unpleasant and can be frightening. If you've had symptoms of a panic attack, it's important to see a healthcare provider. They can give you an official diagnosis and ensure there's no underlying physical cause.

How long can a panic attack last?
Panic attacks usually last 5 to 20 minutes. But some people have reported attacks lasting up to an hour.

What causes panic attacks?
Experts don't know exactly why some people experience panic attacks or develop panic disorder. Your brain and nervous system play key roles in how you perceive and handle fear and anxiety. Researchers think that dysfunction of your amygdala — the part of your brain that processes fear and other emotions — may be at the root of these conditions. They also think chemical imbalances in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), cortisol and serotonin may play a large role.