Concepts
Health psychology/Phobias & anxiety · Anxiety / phobia
Panic disorder
What it means
Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks (abrupt surges of fear with somatic symptoms peaking within minutes) plus persistent worry about further attacks or their consequences.
Worked example
Sudden palpitations, chest tightness, derealisation and fear of dying, "out of the blue".
In the exam
A man has repeated sudden episodes of palpitations, breathlessness and a fear he is dying, lasting minutes, and now lives in dread of the next one.
What settles it
Panic disorder is the recurrent ATTACKS plus anticipatory worry. Agoraphobia is the avoidance of situations; the two often coexist but are distinct.
Classically confused with
Agoraphobia
Source: ICD-11; DSM-5