Panic Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment

Panic disorder: Diagnosis and treatment heart attack is a very serious medical issue, while panic attacks are very serious psychological complaints that can severely impact the quality of a person's life, just as much as a physical illness. The video demonstrated that the symptoms of the two can often mimic one another. Also, because the person suffering from anxiety feels anxious that he or she is in physical harm, the symptoms of chest tightness, for example, intensify the fear that he or she is experiencing a heart attack.

First, the fact that the patient was not having a heart attack was established. This was useful in two ways -- first, for the simple medical reason to ensure that he or she did not have a coronary illness that was not being treated appropriately. Secondly, this gave the patient objective feedback as to what constituted his or her illness. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which was prescribed as part of the patient's treatment, also uses objective data to circumvent irrational thought processes such as: "when I have tightness in my chest and shortness of breath, I must be dying."

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a short-term process that is effective in providing relatively quick coping mechanisms and relief for patients. To address the patient's immediate distress, medication was also prescribed. This would also make it easier for the patient to focus in therapy and engage with the therapist in a meaningful fashion. Balancing DSM-IV diagnostic procedures with individualistic clinical judgment is essential in this manner. This also helped the patient realize the therapist was genuinely responding to his address in a meaningful fashion when given a primary diagnosis of panic attack disorder -- because of the clinician's willingness to listen to what he was saying and address his concerns, he did not believe his physical complaint was being ignored.

A secondary psychological problem that should be addressed is the man's evident agoraphobia, or fear of spending time in public or in wide, open spaces. Although this is not uncommon with individuals suffering panic disorders, special treatment as part of the therapeutic process might be valuable. The patient also has a history of previous mental disorders, including depression that should be monitored. Social isolation brought forth by panic and agoraphobia combined with depression could pose a serious risk to his personal safety, should the symptoms worsen. This is another reason that medication seemed to be the most advisable choice.

Identifying panic attacks as severely incapacitating the man's life, rather than occurring as a 'one-time' incident attached to a physical incident was only determined through intense but empathetic probing. Individuals may often misidentify the symptoms of a heart attack and feel frightened of what is mere indigestion. The more severe psychological ideas behind the patient's behavior only became clear after questions were raised regarding his previous mental history and lifestyle.