Defining Panic—a Diagnostic Dilemma

✍ Scribed by J. A. DEN BOER

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 102 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6222
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199706)12:1+<s3::aid-hup891>3.0.co;2-q

✦ Synopsis

Patients with panic disorder exhibit an array of physical and psychological symptoms. However, the disorder shares some similarities and is often comorbid with other psychiatric conditions, including other anxiety disorders and depression. Dierential diagnosis of panic disorder is important to ensure appropriate treatment. Panic disorder can be qualitatively distinguished from generalized anxiety disorder: panic attacks occur suddenly, have a shorter duration, and there are more physical symptoms which are accompanied by distinct psychological symptoms such as fear of dying, going crazy or losing control. Panic disorder and depression can also be dierentiated: depression, but not panic disorder, is characterized by early morning awakening, loss of appetite, inability to concentrate, daily mood ¯uctuation, sexual dysfunction and loss of capacity for enjoyment. Non-clinical panic, nocturnal panic and limited-symptom attacks exhibit biological similarities to classical panic disorder and can be classed as valid subtypes.