Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

Question 1

what is the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder

Answer 1

recurring unexpected/uncued panic attacks
must have 4+ panic attack related symptoms
one of the attacks has to be followed by 1mnth of
-consistent concern about another panic attack
-significant change in behaviour related to attacks

Question 2

what is the diagnostic criteria for agoraphobia

Answer 2

marked fear or anxiety over 2 or more of the next situations

• using public transport
• open spaces
• enclosed spaces
• waiting in a crowd or in line
• outside of the home alone

Question 3

aetiology of panic disorder

Answer 3

• hyper ventilation
• cognitive theory (have schema that physical sensations are a sign of danger, interpret normal bodily sensations in a catastrophic way)
• learning theory (combine classical conditioning (interoceptive conditioning) and operant learning (avoidance))

Question 4

awareness of internal bodily sensations

Answer 4

interoceptive

Question 5

name 3 therapies for panic disorder

Answer 5

breathing training
drug therapy
cbt

Question 6

describe behaviour therapy component of cbt

Answer 6

graded exposure to panic attack sensations (increased hear rate) and avoided situations (exercise)
panic attacks: graded interoceptive exposure
avoided situations: graded in vivo exposure