Panic disorder is characterized by reoccurring panic attacks with physical symptoms. Patients are initially diagnosed by primary care physicians but may be better served through referral to therapists who can help treat the underlying causes of anxiety in addition to medication. Therapy can help patients gain more control over their situation and potentially overcome their disorder, whereas medication alone risks long-term dependence. Experiments show those with panic disorder experience more anxiety during unpredictable versus predictable stressful events. Effective treatment combines both medication and therapy.

1. Diagnosis and Treatment Options for Panic Disorder Tiffany Hollar PSY 492: Advanced General Psychology Argosy University

2. Definition of Disorder People who have been diagnosed with panic disorder suffer from re-occurring panic attacks Panic attacks are characterized by physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, vertigo, and hot flashes (Anonymous, 2009) (Gordeev, 2008)

3. Initial Diagnosis Patients with panic disorder usually are initially diagnosed by his or her primary care physician. The main issue with this initial diagnosis is the fact that the physicians may not have the necessary qualifications to treat patients other than by means of medications. Primary care physicians should give patients with panic disorder information about the disorder as well as referrals to therapists in order to treat the source of the anxiety as well as the symptoms (Young, Klap, Shoai, & Wells, 2008)

4. Types of Panic Disorder Patients with panic disorder may or may not have Agoraphobia which is a fear of being in public places Agoraphobia occurs in these patients because they are afraid of being in public because they fear that they may have a panic attack and will be embarrassed. Patients with panic disorder who suffer from agoraphobia can become confined to their homes because the fear of having a panic attack around other people is too much to bear. (Gerrig and Zimbardo, 2009 & Hock, 2009) (Gordeev, 2008)

5. Use of Medication and Therapy Most of the literature about panic disorder focuses on the types of medications that can be used to relieve the symptoms of panic disorder Therapy can also be used in order to allow the patient to work through some of the issues that are causing the anxiety Some patients may be satisfied by having his or her panic attacks and symptoms lessened by medications; however the patient could become less dependent on medication if he or she works through some of the issues that are causing the anxiety (Schwartz, 2009)

6. Events that Lead to Anxiety Experiments have been done in order to discover what situations lead to people with anxiety disorders having panic attacks One experiment showed that patients with panic disorder have an abnormal level of anxiety when they are presented with events that are unexpected This could mean that people with panic disorder feel as though they know what is going on they do not have high levels of anxiety (Grillon, Lissek, Rabin, McDowell, Dvir, & Pine, 2008)

7. Conclusion Using both medication and therapy to treat this disorder could be better for the patient because it allows for the patient to treat the cause of his or her anxiety Therapy can allow a patient to become more in control of his or her situation and possibly overcome his or her disorder

8. References Anonymous. PRACTICE GUIDELINE FOR THE Treatment of Patients With Panic Disorder: Second Edition. (2009). The American Journal of Psychiatry: PRACTICE GUIDELINE for the Treatment of Patients with Panic, 166(2), 1,5-68. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Research Library Core. (Document ID: 1637154621). Gerrig, R., & Zimbardo, P. (2009). Psychology and life. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Gordeev, S.. (2008). Clinical-psychophysiological studies of patients with panic attacks with and without agoraphobic disorders. Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology, 38(6), 633-7. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. (Document ID: 1528956811). Grillon, C., Lissek, S., Rabin, S., McDowell, D., Dvir, S., & Pine, D.. (2008). Increased Anxiety During Anticipation of Unpredictable But Not Predictable Aversive Stimuli as a Psychophysiologic Marker of Panic Disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(7), 898-904. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Research Library Core. (Document ID: 1508355741). Hock, R. (2009). Forty studies that changed psychology: explorations into the history of psychological research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Schwartz, T L (Feb 2009). Anxiety disorders: the intricacies of diagnosis and treatment. Psychiatric Times. , 26, 2. p.18. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Criminal Justice Collection via Gale:http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=PPCJ&docId=A193247211&source=gale&userGroupName=lirn_main&version=1.0 Young, A., Klap, R., Shoai, R., & Wells, K.. (2008). Persistent Depression and Anxiety in the United States: Prevalence and Quality of Care. Psychiatric Services, 59(12), 1391-8. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from Psychology Module. (Document ID: 1621747491).