Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder. To have a diagnosis of panic disorder, you need to meet the following criteria.
First, you need to have experienced a panic attack. The DSM-IV describes a panic attack as the experience of intense fear or discomfort where four or more of the following are experienced:
- pounding heart or increased heart rate
- sweating
- trembling or shaking
- feeling as though you are being smothered or having trouble breathing
- choking
- chest pain/discomfort
- nausea or abdominal pains and/or discomfort
- feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or faint
- feeling as though things around you are unreal or feeling detached from yourself
- feeling like you are going to lose control or go crazy
- fear of dying
- numbness or tingling in extremities
- chills or hot flashes
To have a diagnosis of panic disorder, you must also have experienced recurrent unexpected panic attacks. These are panic attacks that occur "out of the blue," not triggered by anything in your environment.
At least one of the attacks must be followed by one month or more of one or more of the following experiences:
- Concern about having additional panic attacks
- Worry about the consequences or implications of a panic attack (e.g., concern that your are going to die).
- A change in behavior because of the attacks.
Panic disorder is a common condition. Approximately 5% of people will develop panic disorder at some point in their lifetime.
You can learn more about panic disorder at the About.com site for panic disorder.
Sources:
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., & Walters, E.E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age of onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593-602.
