Panic Disorder

I. Introduction

A. Panic disorder brings on the fastest and most complex changes known in the human body.

B. My purpose today is to inform you on panic disorder.

C. It concerns you because 1/3 of all Americans have a panic attack by the time they're adults, and 3 out of 4 don't receive the treatment they need.

D. Today I will discuss...

1. Facts about panic disorder

2. Symptoms

3. Causes and risk factors

4. Treatments

II. Body

A. Facts about panic disorder

1. Mimics some medical conditions causing years of misdiagnosis. Almost everyone who panics believes they have a serious physical illness and goes to 10 or more doctors until they are finally diagnosed.

2. 7.2% of all adults or 1 in 15 have panic disorder.

3. 1/3 of all Americans have at least one panic attack, Ñ* being women.

4. It's the most common emotional disorder, more common than alcohol abuse or depression.

5. Often leads to other complications (i.e.: phobias, depression, and even suicide. )

a. 1 out of every 5 untreated sufferers attempt to end their life, never knowing there was treatment.

6. Violent poisons or traumatic injuries have less effect on the body than a panic attack does.

B. Symptoms

1. Panic attack- reaches maximum intensity within a minute or two of beginning and diminish slowly over 10 minutes to as long as several hours and occur as much as several times a day to several times a month and can occur in harmless situations and in a lot of cases, wakening you from sleep.

a. Raging heartbeat

b. Difficulty breathing, feeling as though you can't get enough air

c. Dizziness, lightheadedness, or nausea

d. Trembling, sweating, shaking

e. Choking, chest pains

f. Hot flashes or sudden chills

g. Tingling in fingers or toes

h. Fear you're going crazy or about to die

2. Dissociation

a. Depersonalization- feeling as if you're "outside your body" as though you're standing alongside, above, or behind it

b. Derealisation- feel as if you or your surroundings don't seem real, experience your surroundings through a fog or mist

3. People who have panic disorder often begin to fear having another attack so they begin to avoid situations where an attack might happen. And in some cases they develop agoraphobia (fear of going outdoors).

4. An attack is not dangerous, but it occurs suddenly without any warning or way of stopping it and can also lead to other complications such as alcohol abuse, depression, and suicide.

C. Causes and risk factors

1. Biological

a. There is some evidence that panic disorder is caused by an abnormality in the function of the locus ceruleus, which is a tiny nerve center in the brainstem that controls heartbeat, breathing, and other vital functions.

b. It's also believed that heredity can play a role.

2. Behavioral

a. It occurs most frequently in people who are very worried, perfectionist, socially avoidant, or who have had abuse in childhood.

b. It also occurs in people who are going through major life transitions that are potentially stressful.

3. All ethnic groups are vulnerable and for unknown reasons women are twice as likely to