What are the causes of panic disorder and agoraphobia ?
In early human evolution, many situations that can trigger a panic attack were truly dangerous. For example, public places might have brought our ancestors in contact with hostile strangers. In any given year, 30% to 40% of the general population will have a panic attack. Some of these people will not interpret their panic as a signal of danger or illness, and thus will not go on to develop panic disorder and agoraphobia. Panic attacks are usually activated by stressful situations such as leaving home, relationship conflicts, surgery, new responsibilities or physical illness. The sensations of physical arousal (pounding heart etc) may be misinterpreted as signals of being in the throws of a heart attack. The person therefore starts developing “hyper vigilance” (they focus excessively on physical sensations), which can result in an increase in the sensations and worry. This, in turn, may result in a full blown panic attack. The person may then develop anticipatory anxiety (fear that pan
