PSY 282 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Panic Attack, Agoraphobia, Panic Disorder

• School: University of Rochester
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 282
• Professor: Ryan Thibodeau

Document Summary

Panic disorder (pd): individuals experience severe, unexpected panic attacks. They may think they"re dying or losing control. People develop agoraphobia because they never know when these symptoms might occur, and in severe cases, people with agoraphobia are unable to leave the house. To meet criteria for panic disorder, a person must experience an unexpected panic attack and develop substantial anxiety over the possibility of having another attack or about the implications of the attack or its consequences. The person must think that each attack is a sign of impending death or incapacitation. Agora comes from the greek word meaning marketplace . Agoraphobics engage in avoidance behavior because they want to be in a safe place if they experience a panic attack (and the home is a safe place to be, so agoraphobics may prefer to stay at home) A person who has not had a panic attack for years may still have strong agoraphobic avoidance.