WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF PANIC DISORDER?
Adapted from “Panic Anxiety and Its Treatments”, Edited by Gerald L.Klerman, M.D., et. al. Causal Factors Genetic Factors: Studies show the risk of developing panic disorder is 15-17% in first degree relatives of panic disorder patients. The risk for development in identical twins is 24-31%. This indicates that panic disorder may be genetically transmitted. Psychoanalytic Theories: Panic apprehension may be the emergence of deeply rooted, primarily aggressive unconscious conflicts, that originated in traumatic experiences in early childhood. Learning and Behavior Theories: After the original spontaneous panic attack, further attacks may occur through conditioning in the situations where anxiety has been experienced. Phobic avoidance may develop as patients seek to prevent further panic attacks. Panic attacks may arise when anxiety is conditioned to internal stimuli, for example, heart palpitations. Cognitive Theories: Panic attacks may develop when a person misinterprets the significan
