Panic Disorder Essays - Anxiety Disorders, Psychiatric Diagnosis

Panic Disorder The purpose of this paper is to understand Panic Disorder and symptoms, types of the disorder, treatment, and relation to other disorders and how it affects people in general. Included, is a case study of ?Sarah? who suffered with a panic disorder. Panic Disorder is when someone experiences unexpected panic attacks followed by at least one month of persistent concern about having another panic attack, worrying about the possible consequences of the panic attacks, or a behavioral change related to the attacks (Millon, 1996, p.559). Panic Disorder is not a disease. It may be assessed, but not definitively diagnosed. This disorder is distressing and disabling, physically, psychologically, and socially (Harvard, 2000, p.1). One symptom of Panic Disorder is unexpected panic attacks. At least two panic attacks are required for diagnosis. Attacks may last from several seconds to several minutes. Doctors believe that every attack has a situational trigger and an essential feature (Morrison, 1995, p.402). Another symptom of the disorder is constant concern and worry. The most common trait found in all Panic Disorder patients is a fear of being embarrassed. When a person takes an attack once they are paranoid for up to three months about going into public for fear of taking another attack. People diagnosed with panic disorder experience great anticipation and are very anxious when they look forward. They often worry and think of the worst possible outcomes, and at night, nightmares often occur. Panic disorder patients often assume that they have an undiagnosed disease or think they are going crazy (Harvard, 2000, p.8). Sarah, also experienced severe anxiety in social situations. She had a terrible fear of having another attack, fear of losing consciousness, and a fear of embarrassment in social situations. Sarah had suffered in her sleep as well. Constant nightmares persisted, causing lack of sufficient sleep. Sarah felt she was going crazy, because of the fact that she didn't know what was wrong with her. One symptom of this disorder is behavioral change. Depression is a very common trait in people who suffer with panic disorder. The rate of attempted suicide is twenty times higher among individuals with panic disorder than the general population (Morrison, 1995, p.403). Many people with panic disorder also suffer from alcoholism. People with panic disorder often have great anticipation. Physical conditions are another one of the symptoms of panic disorder. Panic disorder effects physical features of a persons body such as high blood pressure, loss of bladder control, chemical change in ones body, prolapsed and thyroid disease. During the attack a person can experience excessive sweating, chills, chocking, shortness of breath, hot flashes, nausea and pains in their chest. Dizziness, shaking and pounding of the heart are also physical features of this disorder (Laliberte, 1998, p.117). During Sarah's attacks, she experienced many of these physical symptoms. She had shortness of breath, hot flashes, pains in the chest, dizziness (causing her to pass out at times), and shaking and pounding of the heart. She felt as though the attack overpowered her thoughts or feelings, overwhelming her. In this paper we are going to look at four different types of Anxiety Disorders. The first type is Anxiety Disorder due to a general medical condition. Anxiety Disorder due to a general medical condition is diagnosed whenever a panic attack is thought to be a direct physiological consequences. Tests done on physical and mental health, help to determine what the role of the general medical condition is. The second type of Anxiety Disorder is Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder. It is nearly the same as the first type mention, only instead of being a consequence of a medical disorder; it is a consequence of a substance. The substance could be a number of different things including a drug or medication. Nervous system depressants and stimulants can also trigger a panic attack (Morrison, 1995, p.401). The third type of anxiety disorder is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. There are many people who suffer with this type. Whenever someone has an obsession and views an object that triggers their obsession it could lead straight into a panic attack. An example is someone who is obsessed with cleanliness; the item that triggered the attack could possibly be dirt. The last type