Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is defined and characterised by the occurrence of panic attacks that often seem to grip a person. For panic disorder, the person must have been persistently concerned about having another attack or worried about the consequences of having an attack for at least a month (often referred to as anticipatory anxiety). For such an event to qualify as a full-blown panic attack, there must be abrupt onset of at least 4 of 13 symptoms, most of which are physical. Panic attacks are fairly brief but intense, with symptoms developing abruptly and usually reaching peak intensity within 10 minutes; the attacks often subside within 20 to 30 minutes and rarely last more than an hour.