Panic Disorder
What is a Panic Disorder?
Classified as an occurrence of panic attacks that seem to come "out of the blue" where these panic attacks are recurrent and unexpected.
For a diagnosis, a given panic attack must be followed by 1 month or more of:
Persistent worry about additional panic attacks
Significant maladaptive change in behavior
2021 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code: F41.0
Panic Attack:
A discrete period of intense fear and/or discomfort in which a variety of distinct symptoms develop abruptly and reach a peak within a few minutes (e.g. pounding heart, trembling or shaking, sweating, shortness of breath or smothering sensation, chest pain).
*Panic attack is not a diagnosis, in and of itself; however, it is necessary to have a panic attack to be diagnosed with Panic Disorder.
A panic attack is a specifier to physical and mental disorders. It requires the abrupt development of 4 or more of the following symptoms that reach a peak within a few minutes:
Pounding heart
Trembling or shakingSweatingShortness of breath or smothering sensationFeeling of chokingChest pain or discomfortChills or hot flashesNausea or abdominal distressDerealization or depersonalizationFeeling dizzy or lightheadedFear of losing control or going crazyNumbness or tinglingFear of dying
Dan Harris, ABC Nightline News anchor and author of 10% Happier, tells us how a panic attack on national television changed his life for the better:
Treatment Information:
Surveys of non-clinical populations reveal that a significant proportion of the population experience such [panic] attacks (Norton et al., 1986, Norton et al., 1985). Findings from Telch, Lucas, and Nelson’s (1989) study of approximately 2000 college students suggested that lifetime prevalence rates are as high as 12%.
Anxiety Sensitivity as a Predictor of the Development of Panic Symptoms, Panic Attacks, and Panic Disorder: a Prospective Study — Read now