Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder - About 6 million American adults ages 18 and older have panic disorder in a given year. The median age of onset is 24 years old. About one in three people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a condition in which the individual becomes afraid of being in any place or situation where escape might be difficult or help unavailable in the event of a panic attack. Panic attacks are intense anxiety states of panic, fear, or dread that can come upon a person instantly, with or without a trigger from surroundings. Some panic attacks are accompanied with phobias. Panic attacks are accompanied by such symptoms as shortness of breath, racing heartbeat, and a fear of dying or "going crazy." No one really knows the terror of panic unless they have the disorder. If you would like to read more about panic please go to http://familydoctor.org/137.xml.

I have panic disorder myself. But it has been controlled by antidepressants, mostly Selective Serotin Reuptake Inhibitors for many years. I have been on two of these for over ten years. One is fluvoxamine (Luvox) and the other Sertaline (Zolfot). Their are others such as Celexa, Lexipro and Paxil. Panic which develops into Agoraphobia has been shown to be helped by some forms of Behavior Therapy.