A devastating mental health condition known as panic disorder affects one of every 75 Americans. However, it’s highly treatable, and people who suffer from it can live full, productive lives.

Panic disorder is different from the normal fear and anxiety people experience in response to stressful events in their lives. People who suffer from the condition regularly experience panic attacks in which their hearts pound, they feel nauseous and short of breath, and they feel like they’re going crazy or are having a heart attack.

“During a panic attack, the person’s fear response is out of proportion for the situation, which often isn’t threatening,” says Paula Levine, Ph.D., director of the Agoraphobia Resource Center in Miami and a spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association. “Without treatment, the condition can have serious consequences, including the development of agoraphobia, in which people are afraid to leave their homes, which can have a tremendous impact on their personal and professional lives.”

Here are answers to important questions regarding this condition.

What is a panic attack?
A panic attack is a sudden jolt of overwhelming fear that comes without warning and without any obvious reason. A panic attack is marked by at least four of the follow- ing symptoms: racing heart; sweating; shaking; shortness of breath; chest pain; a sensation of choking, nausea, dizziness or numbness; chills or hot flashes; fear you’re going crazy, losing control, or dying; and the feeling that the world isn’t real or that you’re detached from your body.

What is panic disorder?
Someone with panic disorder has repeated panic attacks and lives in fear of having another one.

“Many people experience occasional panic attacks, and if you have had one or two such attacks over a period of years, there probably isn’t any reason to worry,” Levine advises.

However, if you’ve had four or more panic attacks and are in continual fear of having another, you should seek help from a mental health professional who specializes in panic or anxiety disorders.

What causes panic disorder?
“The precise cause isn’t known,” says Levine. “However, the condition tends to run in families, and women are twice as likely to have the disorder as men.”

In addition, stressful life events, especially a recent loss or separation, seem to trigger panic disorders in people who may have a genetic predisposition for them.

Is this disorder treatable?
Most people find relief from a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication to ease their distress, along with lots of reassurance and education about the disorder.

Because many people who have panic attacks feel like they’re going crazy or are having a heart attack, cognitive restructuring (changing one’s way of thinking) helps people replace those thoughts with a more realistic, factual understanding of what’s happening to them.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help people identify possible triggers for the attacks and understand that having some symptoms of panic doesn’t mean they have to go through a full breakdown.

“If you believe you could be suffering from panic disorder, seek treatment from a qualified professional,” Levine advises. “Doing so will allow you to live a fuller, more complete life.”

Barbara Floria spoke with Paula Levine, Ph.D., director of the Agoraphobia Resource Center in Miami and a spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association. For more information, visit www.apa.org.

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