Many different people have defined panic disorder in many different ways
over the years. Sigmund Freud wrote the first clinical definition:
"… an anxiety attack… may consist of the feeling of anxiety, alone,
without any associated idea… or else some kind of paresthesia… may be combined
with the feeling of anxiety, or, finally, the feeling of anxiety may have
linked it to a disturbance of… bodily functions- such as respiration, heart
action, vasomotor innervation or glandular activity."
A panic, or anxiety, attack, as described by the American
Psychological Association, is defined as a "…sudden surge of overwhelming
fear that comes without warning…". The symptoms listed by the APA include
a racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, paralyzing terror, hot flashes, and a
fear of impending death or insanity. The first 2 editions of the DSM defined
only one kind of anxiety disorder, as mentioned earlier. By the time of the
DSM-III publication in 1980, it was broken up into 2 different diseases: panic
disorder and general anxiety disorder (GAD). The major difference between the
two is that panic disorder sufferers experience anxiety only during the panic
attacks, while GAD sufferers experience anxiety all day, every day.
Non-Psychological Symptoms and Side Effects
Panic disorder is unlike other mental disorders in that it causes physical
harm and side effects as well as psychological harm. Because of the
cardiovascular symptoms of the disorder, such as heart palpitations and
irregular heartbeat, panic disorder sufferers are 30-40% more likely to suffer
from mitral valve prolapse, a serious heart condition, than members of the
general population. Panic patients also tend to go in for expensive surgeries,
mainly coronary and abdominal in nature, more often than non-panic sufferers
do.
They make up 20-30% of patients who go in for coronary arteriography
surgery, even though they tend to not need it. They also have a higher risk for
migraines and severe headaches. According to a recent study, nearly 28% of all
individuals between 24 and 29 years of age who visited a physician for headache
had a history of panic disorder. The cause for these migraines is usually not
discovered by the medical doctor, because his training is in a different area.
Generally, because of these superfluous visits to the doctor, people who suffer
from panic disorder visit the doctor or hospital much more frequently than
people without it do. This not only ties up the doctor from dealing with
patients who need medical help (as opposed to psychological help), but it also
makes the panic sufferer’s medical bill much higher than the average person’s.