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    Panic attacks and panic disorder

    惊恐发作与惊恐障碍

    Clinical diagnosis
    Also called
    panic attack, panic attacks, panic disorder, recurrent panic attacks, episodic paroxysmal anxiety

    How is a panic attack different from panic disorder?

    A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear that peaks quickly, with symptoms such as a pounding heart, sweating, trembling, breathlessness, chest pain or fear of dying; it usually lasts only minutes.[1] Panic disorder applies only when unexpected attacks recur and are followed by lasting worry or avoidance that disrupts daily life.[1]

    One attack (schematic)

    One attack is not panic disorder: all three must apply

    Schematic, not a self-test.

    Select a point on the curve or any box for details.
    Schematic: the curve at the top sketches the rise and fall of one panic attack and is not measured data. Only when all three conditions in the middle apply might it be panic disorder, and only a professional can decide. The dot grid below uses World Mental Health Survey proportions: of every 100 adults, how many have had an attack and how many have panic disorder. Select a part for details. Select a part for details
    Schematic: the curve at the top sketches the rise and fall of one panic attack and is not measured data. Only when all three conditions in the middle apply might it be panic disorder, and only a professional can decide. The dot grid below uses World Mental Health Survey proportions: of every 100 adults, how many have had an attack and how many have panic disorder. Select a part for details. Save as image (PNG)

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    Key points

    • Across 25 countries (142,949 adults), 13.2% had ever had a panic attack; only one in eight of them, 1.7% overall, had panic disorder. Beijing and Shanghai: 2.1% and 0.4%.[2]
    • People may fear a heart attack, and many return to emergency care for unneeded tests.[1] NICE advises the minimum tests to rule out acute physical problems, then referral to primary care.[3]
    • Attacks often become tied to particular places, which people then fear. Many start avoiding them or go out only with a trusted companion; agoraphobia may then be diagnosed as well.[1]
    • NICE recommends 7 to 14 hours of CBT for moderate to severe panic disorder.[3] In a review of 72 trials, programs with interoceptive exposure did better; breathing retraining did little for outcomes.[4]

    An example

    On the subway, Jay’s heart suddenly races, he can’t catch his breath, his hands tingle and he feels he is dying; it eases after ten minutes or so. The emergency room finds no heart problem. Now he dreads another attack and avoids the subway. Whether to seek more help depends on whether attacks recur and the worry and avoidance persist.[1]

    Misreadings and limits

    This page is not a tool for self-diagnosis. Chest pain and breathlessness can also come from heart or other physical illness and need a medical check,[1][3] and one panic attack is not panic disorder.[3] If attacks keep returning, or fear of them starts to restrict daily life, a doctor or mental health professional can help; proven treatments exist.[3]

    If you need help now

    If you’re struggling to cope or having thoughts of harming yourself:

    If you’re in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.

    Psyfield is not a crisis service. Numbers checked October 2026.

    Sources

    1. 1 World Health Organization (2025). 6B01 Panic disorder. ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics (2025-01 release). View source
    2. 2 de Jonge, P., Roest, A. M., Lim, C. C. W., Florescu, S. E., Bromet, E. J., Stein, D. J., Harris, M., Nakov, V., Caldas-de-Almeida, J. M., Levinson, D., Al-Hamzawi, A. O., Haro, J. M., Viana, M. C., Borges, G., O’Neill, S., de Girolamo, G., Demyttenaere, K., Gureje, O., Iwata, N., … Scott, K. M. (2016). Cross-national epidemiology of panic disorder and panic attacks in the world mental health surveys. Depression and Anxiety, 33(12), 1155–1177. doi:10.1002/da.22572
    3. 3 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2011). Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: Management (CG113). NICE clinical guideline (last updated June 2020). View source
    4. 4 Pompoli, A., Furukawa, T. A., Efthimiou, O., Imai, H., Tajika, A., & Salanti, G. (2018). Dismantling cognitive-behaviour therapy for panic disorder: A systematic review and component network meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 48(12), 1945–1953. doi:10.1017/S0033291717003919

    Last checked against sources: October 28, 2026