Panic disorder is defined as a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear that cause a fight or flight response (adrenaline flooding the body).

Panic disorder affects about 6 million American adults. It is twice as common in women as men and tends to run in families.

People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. During a panic attack, most likely your heart will pound and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you may hyperventilate. You may have nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control.

Certain groups are at a higher risk for developing panic disorder. These groups include:

• Females
• People in their late teens or early 20s
• People who have a close relative with panic disorder (If one of your parents has had panic disorder, you're four to seven times more likely to get it than someone whose parents have not)
• People going through a stressful time in their life, such as a divorce, the death of a loved one or the end of an important relationship.
• People who have had hard childhoods: were abused, a child of divorce, moved around a lot, had parents that were extremely overprotective
• People who excessively worry
• People who abuse drugs and alcohol

Panic attacks might be tied to other medical conditions, specific phobias or anxiety disorders such as social anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder, or directly to panic disorder. Panic Attacks can be: Cued- triggered by a specific fear, place or situation; Situational/Predisposed- caused by certain places or situations some of the time; or Spontaneous- can happen anywhere, anytime, without warning or specific fear.

Panic disorder is one of the most treatable of all the anxiety disorders, responding in most cases to certain kinds of medication or certain kinds of cognitive psychotherapy, which help change thinking patterns that lead to fear and anxiety. People with panic disorder often benefit from treatment for other emotional problems, such as clinical depression and alcohol/drug dependence. Many choices exist, and it is likely that most patients will respond to at least one of the currently available forms of treatment.