Panic disorders are seizures that come on suddenly, leaving people in fear and intense distress. It is an anxiety disorder. In our normal life, everyone experiences the feeling of extreme anxiety and panic at some times. This feeling develops due to an experienced event, a possible activity. The student who will take the exam feels fear and anxiety in the form of panic. It is a defense mechanism of the body towards this event.

Panic disorders are seizures that come on suddenly, leaving people in fear and intense distress. It is an anxiety disorder. In our normal life, everyone experiences the feeling of extreme anxiety and panic at some times. This feeling develops due to an experienced event, a possible activity. The student who will take the exam feels fear and anxiety in the form of panic. It is a defense mechanism of the body towards this event.

In panic disorder, the person often has a panic attack without a specific underlying cause. In the absence of a panic attack, he lives with the constant worry that he will develop a panic attack. Because of this anxiety, he avoids doing some activities. He doesn’t go to the gym, he misses school, he doesn’t go to work. To prevent these attacks, he takes alcohol, drugs or carries them with him.

The situation in which patients avoid places that they think will have a panic attack (not going out alone, not being alone at home, not getting on the elevator alone, etc.) is called agoraphobia . More than half of patients with panic disorder have agoraphobia.



Attacks begin suddenly, peak in about 10 minutes, and last an average of half an hour in total. Sometimes it can take up to an hour.

Although the incidence of panic disorder varies according to societies, it is about 1.5-2.5% on average. They can apply to many different specialties with different complaints. Usually the age of onset is 20-30 years. Panic disorder accompanied by agoraphobia begins mostly in the twenties, and panic disorder without agoraphobia begins mostly in the thirties. Panic disorder is three times more common in women than men.

Panic disorder symptoms: 

Panic attacks:

It varies from person to person. It may develop without a specific reason, or it may occur when an event or situation is encountered or is likely to be encountered. Typical panic attacks come on suddenly, unexpectedly. However, panic attacks with agoraphobia occur suddenly when a reason is encountered or when there is a possibility of encountering it.

Symptoms appear suddenly. The person also feels that he is going to die, or is having a heart attack, is paralyzed, and terrifies. Sudden but mild symptoms reach their peak in about 10 minutes. The person gets into trouble by thinking that he will lose control and harm those around him. In severe cases, the person may lose control of reality and perceive the people around them as changed. Symptoms that reach their peak slow down and resolve in about 15 minutes. However, this period can sometimes take up to an hour.

Panic attacks develop during the day in most patients. However, nocturnal attacks are described in some patients.



Attacks tend to recur. The frequency of recurrence varies from person to person, depending on the severity of the disease. Sometimes a few attacks per week are experienced, while some patients may experience several attacks per month.

Panic attack symptoms:

  • Palpitation,
  • Shortness of breath,
  • Choking feeling,
  • Dizziness/feeling lightheaded
  • Fear of death,
  • Chest pain/chest discomfort
  • Numbness and tingling,
  • Chills/fever,
  • Loss of reality
  • Nausea/abdominal pain,
  • Shaking
  • Fear of going crazy/losing control
  • Sweating,
  • Unrest,
  • Dry mouth,
  • Blurred vision,
  • Feeling of a knot in the throat,
  • Hopelessness/despair,
  • Inability to concentrate
  • Mental confusion.
  • Anticipatory anxiety: It is the fear that the person will have an attack again after a panic attack. He feels deep anxiety, tension, restlessness. It prepares the ground for the development of new attacks.
  • Intense and constant sadness: As the patient has an attack, he thinks that he will have an attack when he is alone, that no one can help him, that he will die due to a heart attack, that he will harm others. An intense and persistent anxiety develops.
  • Agoraphobia: It is the avoidance of the event, activity, place, food and drink that the person sees as the cause of the attack. For example, not staying alone at home, not going out alone, not going to crowded places, not going to the market, etc. In order to prevent these attacks, the patient may use alcohol and drugs with the thought that it will alleviate their complaints. He can even take it with him in case of an attack.

Causes of panic disorder: 

The exact cause of panic disorder is not known. However, there are assumptions that some factors may cause the development of panic disorder.

Possible causes of panic disorder include: 

  • Family history of panic disorder
  • Sexual or physical abuse, especially during childhood,
  • Pessimistic, detail-oriented, emotional personality structure,
  • Loss of family or loved one
  • Severe trauma,
  • Smoking, caffeine use,
  • Drug use,
  • Psychological diseases such as obsessive compulsive disorder,
  • Imbalance of chemical messengers in the brain (abnormal functioning of certain brain hormones).

Possible causes of panic attacks include: 

  • Casualties,
  • Serious traumas (intense stress, excessive anxiety),
  • Nutritional disorders,
  • Alcohol addiction,
  • Drug use,
  • Family history,
  • Certain medications (antidepressants etc.),



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