Panic disorder & Agoraphobia
You may be suffering from Panic Disorder if:
- You have been cleared by a medical examination
- You are having recurrent unexpected panic attacks
- For at least one month you have persistently:
(a) Worried about having other attacks or
(b) Worried about the implications of the attacks or their consequences (for example, that you are going crazy, losing control, having a heart attack, etc.) or
(c) You have significantly changed your behaviour because of the panic attacks.
Panic Disorder can be diagnosed With or Without Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia relates to a condition in which you develop anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or in which help may not be available in the event of having an unexpected Panic Attack or panic-like symptoms.
Agoraphobic fears typically involve characteristic clusters of situations that include being outside the home alone; being in a crowd, or standing in a line; being in an enclosed crowded space such as a restaurant or cinema; being on a bridge; and traveling in a bus, train, or automobile. The situations are avoided (e.g., travel is restricted), require the presence of a companion, or else are endured with marked distress or with anxiety about having a Panic Attack or panic-like symptoms. The anxiety or phobic avoidance is not better accounted for by another mental disorder, such as:
- Social Phobia
E.g. Avoidance limited to social situations because of fear of embarrassment - Specific Phobia
E.g. Avoidance limited to a single situation like elevators - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
E.g. Avoidance of dirt, in someone with an obsession about contamination - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
E.g. Avoidance of reminders of a traumatic event - Separation Anxiety Disorder
E.g. Avoidance of leaving home or relatives
Agoraphobia can be a severely debilitating disorder. Aspects of life that most people take for granted can be affected such as being able to travel, work, take children to school, go shopping or enjoy a night at the cinema. In extreme cases, sufferers may become housebound and completely dependent on others. Sufferers often become socially isolated as their lack of mobility and independence costs them friendships and social connections.
Understandably, Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia can lead to depression, feelings of hopelessness, and loss of self esteem.
Panic Disorder is diagnosed as With or Without Agoraphobia. Conversely Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder is diagnosed if agoraphobia is present related to fear of developing panic like symptoms (e.g. Dizziness or diarrhoea). The criteria have never been met for Panic Disorder. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition. If a general condition is present, the fear described is clearly in excess of that usually associated with the condition.
