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A Prospective Study of Panic and Anxiety in Agoraphobia with Panic Disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Metin Başoǧlu ,
Isaac M. Marks  and
Seda Şengün
Metin Başoǧlu*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, 99 Denmark Hill, London SE5
Isaac M. Marks
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, 99 Denmark Hill, London SE5
Seda Şengün
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, 99 Denmark Hill, London SE5
*
∗ Correspondence
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Abstract

The features of panic and anxiety in the natural environment were studied by prospective self-monitoring in 39 patients with chronic agoraphobia and panic disorder. Panics overlapped greatly with anxiety episodes but were more intense. Panics occurred more often in public places than did anxiety episodes, but had otherwise similar symptom profile, time of occurrence, and antecedents. Most panics surged out of a pre-existing plateau of tonic anxiety which lasted most of the day. Spontaneous panics were less frequent than situational panics and occurred more often at home but were otherwise similar. These findings do not support the sharp distinction between panic and anxiety in DSM–III–R, not its emphasis on spontaneous panic in classifying anxiety disorders. Thoughts of dying and ‘going crazy’/losing control accompanied only a minority of panic/anxiety episodes and seemed to be a product of intense panic rather than a cause.

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Papers
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The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 160 , Issue 1 , January 1992 , pp. 57 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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