Anxiety and Panic Attacks In Emphysema ... - Mind Publications

Psychiatric Perspective on Anxiety and Panic attacks
“Anxiety,” “anxiety attacks,” or “panic attacks.” So far I have been using these
words interchangeably. But psychiatrically speaking there is a difference between the
two.
Anxiety is a “catch-all” term referring to the tension or stress a person
experiences in the presence of an actual or anticipated threat. Anxiety can be severe,
moderate or mild. There are many people who experience low-grade anxiety all the time
and are unable to relax. In common parlance, we often refer to them as “worry warts.”
Only some of them experience panic attacks.
I have constructed my own anxiety checklist, which I have been using and
continually modifying for the last 15 years or so at my clinic with anxiety and panic
attack patients. In this checklist, there are 43 symptoms that cover a wide spectrum of
anxiety complaints. You can see Dr. Sharma’s Anxiety Checklist at the end of this fle.
But, only 13 out of the 43 symptoms on my Anxiety Checklist fall in the category
of panic attacks. Those 13 symptoms are classified as symptoms of a panic attack
according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of Mental Disorders, briefly
referred to as DSM IV.
According to DSM IV, you have a “panic attack” when you experience at least 4
out of the 13 symptoms, which may gradually or suddenly escalate to the level of a full
blown panic attack. Panic attacks with sudden onset rapidly build to a peak and are
accompanied by an overwhelming sense of fear.
Panic attacks with “sudden onset” or without sudden onset typically last for a few
minutes. They peak out anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes. But, in some circumstances
they can last even an hour or two.
It can be a scary experience when you have no inkling of a panic attack coming,
and you suddenly experience such symptoms as heart pounding, panting and shaking and
trembling like a train is running towards you from a blind corner.
If you experience fewer than four symptoms, some clinicians would refer to it as a
“limited-symptom panic attack.”
“Anxiety attack” is not a DSM IV term. When one has some of the panic
symptoms but they don’t meet the criteria of a panic attack, we refer to them as “anxiety
attacks.” I don’t believe there is a precise definition of an “anxiety attack” upon which
we all can agree.