Panic Disorders and Phobias - Mental Health Disorders

Panic Disorders and Phobias

Margie, a 23-year-old California woman, first experienced a panic attack when she was 19. She'd gone off to college at a large state university, her first venture away from the small town where she grew up. Suddenly she began experiencing attacks of shaking, heart beatings, and fainting. Two or three times a week at the most unpredictable times she would suddenly find herself suffering an attack, sometimes during class. Her doctor diagnosed her as suffering from panic attacks.

Panic attack sufferers like Margie are often convinced that they're having a heart attack. A majority of patients to hospital emergency rooms for heart attacks are actually found to be suffering panic attacks. Since some symptoms resemble heart attacks–for instance, chest pain and heart palpitation–the fear of dying is not unreasonable. Because many of the symptoms of panic attacks mimic medical problems (or at least seem to) the person who suffers from them may spend months or years fruitlessly seeking a medical diagnosis for what is actually a psychological problem.

Everyone is occasionally frightened by something, and most people learn to overcome common fears or learn to live with them. Some people, however, suffer from intense fears (phobias) or panic disorders which they cannot control, and which can seriously disrupt their lives. According to the National Institute of Mental Health pamphlet Useful Information on Phobias and Panic , panic disorders afflict approximately three million Americans. Victims usually report experiencing intense, overwhelming terror for no apparent reason. The fear is accompanied by sweating, heart palpitations, hot or cold flashes, trembling, choking, shortness of breath, chest discomforts, and dizziness. People suffering such an attack for the first time often rush to a hospital, convinced that they are having a heart attack.

People who suffer from simple phobias have fears of specific objects or situations. Common examples include fear of heights (acrophobia), fear of open spaces (agoraphobia), fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), People who suffer from simple phobias have fears of specific objects or situations. Common examples include fear of heights (acrophobia), fear of open spaces (agoraphobia), fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), fear of dirt and germs (misophobia), fear of snakes (ophediophobia), and fear of animals (zoophobia). Simple phobias, especially animal phobias, are common in children, but they are known to occur at all ages. The recognition by most phobics that their fears are unreasonable does not make them feel any less anxious, although their phobias normally do not interfere with daily life.

People with social phobias are intensely afraid of being watched and judged by others and manifests as shyness or avoidance of social situations such as public speaking, eating in public, or going to parties. Social phobias usually begin between the ages of 15 and 20 and, if left untreated, continue through much of a person's life. Sufferers may have difficulty breathing in such situations, or fail to remember what to say or how to act appropriately.

Scientists do not agree on what causes panic disorders. They appear to run in families, which suggests the disorder is partly genetic in origin. Psychotherapists believe that disordered thinking in some people produces an anxiety level that can trigger panic attacks. Biochemical theories point to possible physical defects in a person's autonomic nervous system. General hypersensitivity in the nervous system, for example, can increase arousal. Chemical imbalances created by caffeine, alcohol, or other agents can also trigger these symptoms.