Panic Attack Facts:

• Many people have just one panic attack and never have another.
• Stress disorders affect more women than men by a difference of about 2 or 3 percent.
• Fluoxetine (Prozac®), sertraline (Zoloft®), escitalopram (Lexapro®), paroxetine (Paxil®), and citalopram (Celexa®) are some of the SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) commonly prescribed for panic disorder, OCD and PTSD.
• The tendency to develop panic attacks appears to be inherited.

Agoraphobia


The ancient term agoraphobia is translated from Greek as fear of an open marketplace. Agoraphobia today describes severe and pervasive anxiety about being in situations from which escape might be difficult or avoidance of situations such as being alone outside of the home, traveling in a car, bus, or airplane, or being in a crowded area (DSM-IV).

Most people who present to mental health specialists develop agoraphobia after the onset of panic disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 1998). Agoraphobia is best understood as an adverse behavioral outcome of repeated panic attacks and the subsequent worry, preoccupation, and avoidance (Barlow, 1988). Thus, the formal diagnosis of panic disorder with agoraphobia was established. However, for those people in communities or clinical settings who do not meet full criteria for panic disorder, the formal diagnosis of agoraphobia without history of panic disorder is used (DSM-IV).

The 1-year prevalence of agoraphobia is about 5 percent. Agoraphobia occurs about two times more commonly among women than men (Magee et al., 1996). The gender difference may be attributable to social-cultural factors that encourage, or permit, the greater expression of avoidant coping strategies by women (DSM-IV), although other explanations are possible.

Other Panic Attack Articles:

Is There A Solution For Panic Attacks

"One major step that all panic attack sufferers can take is to change their lifestyle."

Agoraphobia Panic Attack Information

"The good thing about an anxiety panic attack, if it can be said there is one, is that in most cases they can be controlled."

Do You Need Panic Attack Medicine

"When someone has repeated attacks, or feels severe anxiety about having another attack, he or she is said to have panic disorder."