Frequency of Panic Attacks. Frequency of attacks can vary widely. Some people have frequent attacks (for example, every week) that occur for months; others may have clusters of daily attacks followed by weeks or months of remission.
Triggers of Panic Attacks. Panic attacks may occur spontaneously or in response to a particular situation. Recalling or re-experiencing even harmless circumstances surrounding an original attack may trigger subsequent panic attacks.
Phobic Disorders
Phobias, manifested by overwhelming and irrational fears, are common. In most cases, people can avoid or at least endure phobic situations, but in some cases, as with agoraphobia, the anxiety associated with the feared object or situation can be incapacitating.
Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia has been somewhat misleadingly described as fear of open spaces, the term having been derived from the Greek word agora, meaning outdoor marketplace. In its severest form, agoraphobia is characterized by a paralyzing terror of being in places or situations from which the patient feels there is neither escape nor accessible help in case of an attack. (One patient described the terror of going outside as opening a door onto a landscape filled with snakes.) Consequently, people with agoraphobia confine themselves to places in which they feel safe, usually at home. The patient with agoraphobia often makes complicated plans in order to avoid confronting feared situations and places.
Social Phobia. Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is the fear of being publicly scrutinized and humiliated and is manifested by extreme shyness and discomfort in social settings. This phobia often leads people to avoid social situations and is not due to a physical or mental problem (such as stuttering, acne, or personality disorders). The incidence of social phobia is approximately 13% and has been termed "the neglected anxiety disorder" because it is often missed as a diagnosis.
The associated symptoms vary in intensity, ranging from mild and tolerable anxiety to a full-blown panic attack. (Unlike a panic attack, however, social phobia is always directly related to a social situation.) Symptoms include sweating, shortness of breath, pounding heart, dry mouth, and tremor.
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