Overcoming panic and related anxiety disorders - Margaret Hawkins

Few events are as terrifying as panic attacks, which may include sudden palpitations, chest pain, choking sensations, dizziness, and feelings of unreality, often with fear, especially of dying, losing control, or going mad. This terrifying condition often starts at about 20, or between late adolescence and the mid-30s, and may follow a stressful life event; panic disorder may also have a genetic component. Part of the problem is that people often don't realize, or refuse to believe, that their sensations are in fact panic - with so many physical symptoms, they tend to assume that there is something medically amiss. This results in real difficulty in getting appropriate treatment; panic may also progress into a variety of anxiety disorders, such as agoraphobia, or other phobias. This book aims to provide solid, reliable information to help people with panic disorder realize that their sensations are explicable and curable.