Anxiety: What is Panic Disorder?

Can you imagine waking in the middle of the night covered in sweat, with your heart pounding, and with a feeling that you were about to die? Or how about standing in a room of people when suddenly you are overwhelmed by the fear that something terrible is about to happen? These are the feelings that people with panic disorder face everyday.

They spend their lives either enduring an attack, or waiting for the next attack to hit. The possibility of leading an ordinary life seems to grow slimmer with each new attack, and the panic attacks themselves can become more frequent as the stress they create increases.

Their fears are largely irrational, such as having a fear of riding in a car simply because there could be an accident. However, to the person suffering from them the fears are very real. They often tell themselves they are being irrational, but lack the control to actually convince themselves of the irrationality of their fears. These fears can continue to progress and eventually lead to agoraphobia, or a fear of public places.

Many people often wonder how the two are connected, however it seems logical that if a person could never be sure how they would react to a social situation or a public place that they would fear these situations and places.

People dealing with panic disorders never know when their next attack will hit, so they begin to shy away from places and people who might notice their anxiety if an attack should arise. Pulling away from friends and family is not uncommon for someone with an anxiety disorder, after all they cannot control the fears that they have or when they will be stricken with an overwhelming sense of panic again. Can you imagine dealing with not only the overwhelming fear itself, but trying to explain to someone else that there really was nothing wrong you were just terrified?

Despite what may seem like a very bleak outlook for people with a panic disorder, there are treatments available. Targeted psychotherapy has often resulted in improvement of symptoms. Medications are also available to help control the disorder. If someone you know or love is affected by panic disorder, be as supportive as you can and get him or her to seek help. After all, once they begin the road to treatment, they will probably be able to step back into their life again, and learn how to live - without panic.