Personality Quizzes

Panic attacks are extremely frightening. Maybe you are having panic attacks? Sufferers often think they are about to die of a heart attack or they are doing crazy. Frequently they dash off to an emergency room or their physician fearing the worst. This is the very thing they should to in the beginning. More serious disorders or conditions should be ruled out first. Once a diagnosis of "panic attacks" has been made, which made be part of panic disorder. Panic attacks symptoms can be particularly confusing because they mimic a number of disorders.

Sometimes panic attacks appear to come from "out of the blue." Other times they accompany a feared experience such as flying or public speaking. Agoraphobics may experience an attack in situations from which escape is hindered, for example a crowded theater or shopping mall. Often fear of a panic attack becomes the most limiting factor for the symptomatic individual. I have found in private practice, once a patient truly understands that panic attacks are frightening, yet not really harmful, he or she begins to lose the paralyzing fear of attacks. This is a huge forward step in treatment.

The DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association)describes symptoms as a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four (or more) of the following symptoms develop abruptly and reach a peak within ten minutes.

Do you have panic attacks? Let's take the test and determine if it is likely. Do you experience...