Other conditions associated with panic disorder

You may have another condition along with panic disorder that can make successful treatment more difficult. Other conditions include:^{1, 2}

• Depression, which occurs in approximately 50% of people with panic disorder.³
• Anxiety and anxiety disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Substance abuse problems with drugs or alcohol, which often are a result of attempts to cope with panic attacks.
• Social anxiety disorder, a fear of being humiliated in public.
• Body dysmorphic disorder, a focus on a real or imagined defect in physical appearance.
• Hypochondriasis, a fear of having a serious disease based on real or imagined symptoms.
• Somatization disorders, the presence of physical symptoms that are caused by mental conditions.

Citations

1. Kumar S, Oakley-Browne M (2007). Panic disorder, search date May 2006. Online version of BMJ Clinical Evidence. Available online: http://www.clinicalevidence.com.

2. American Psychiatric Association (1998). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with panic disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155(5 Suppl): 1-34.

3. Merritt TC (2000). Recognition and acute management of patients with panic attacks in the emergency department. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 18(2): 289-300.