Barrier-Free World
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| P |
Panic Disorders
Panic disorder is a real illness that can be successfully treated. It is characterized by
sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness,
weakness, faintness, or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may
flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience
nausea, chest pain, or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of
unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control.
A fear of one's own unexplained physical symptoms is also a symptom of panic disorder.
People having panic attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks, losing
their minds, or on the verge of death. They can't predict when or where an attack will
occur, and between episodes many worry intensely and dread the next attack.
Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack usually peaks within
10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer. Panic disorder affects about 6
million American adults and is twice as common in women as men. Panic attacks often
begin in late adolescence or early adulthood, but not everyone who experiences panic
attacks will develop panic disorder. Many people have just one attack and never have
another. The tendency to develop panic attacks appears to be inherited.
--National Institute of Mental Health
Panic disorder is a real illness that can be successfully treated. It is characterized by
sudden attacks of terror, usually accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness,
weakness, faintness, or dizziness. During these attacks, people with panic disorder may
flush or feel chilled; their hands may tingle or feel numb; and they may experience
nausea, chest pain, or smothering sensations. Panic attacks usually produce a sense of
unreality, a fear of impending doom, or a fear of losing control.
A fear of one's own unexplained physical symptoms is also a symptom of panic disorder.
People having panic attacks sometimes believe they are having heart attacks, losing
their minds, or on the verge of death. They can't predict when or where an attack will
occur, and between episodes many worry intensely and dread the next attack.
Panic attacks can occur at any time, even during sleep. An attack usually peaks within
10 minutes, but some symptoms may last much longer. Panic disorder affects about 6
million American adults and is twice as common in women as men. Panic attacks often
begin in late adolescence or early adulthood, but not everyone who experiences panic
attacks will develop panic disorder. Many people have just one attack and never have
another. The tendency to develop panic attacks appears to be inherited.
--National Institute of Mental Health
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| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed, the harm may have happened to a loved one, or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers. PTSD can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such as mugging, rape, torture, being kidnapped or held captive, child abuse, car accidents, train wrecks, plane crashes, bombings, or natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes. People with PTSD may startle easily, become emotionally numb (especially in relation to people with whom they used to be close), lose interest in things they used to enjoy, have trouble feeling affectionate, be irritable, become more aggressive, or even become violent. They avoid situations that remind them of the original incident, and anniversaries of the incident are often very difficult. PTSD symptoms seem to be worse if the event that triggered them was deliberately initiated by another person, as in a mugging or a kidnapping. Most people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma in their thoughts during the day and in nightmares when they sleep. These are called flashbacks. Flashbacks may consist of images, sounds, smells, or feelings, and are often triggered by ordinary occurrences, such as a door slamming or a car backfiring on the street. A person having a flashback may lose touch with reality and believe that the traumatic incident is happening all over again. --National Institute of Mental Health |
| Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) There are five disorders under PDD are:
--Autism Society of North America |