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The medical profession have known about panic attacks and related anxiety symptoms for at least the last 90 years, even though there appears to be a lack of awareness among the general public about them.

At the beginning of the 20th century, if you were unlucky enough to experience panic attack or anxiety symptoms in it’s many forms, you would be variously diagnosed as having neurasthenia, irritable heart, anxiety neurosis, or DaCosta’s syndrome, named after the doctor who noticed its common occurrence in front-line soldiers.

But it wasn’t until as recently as 1980 that panic disorder was recognized as something quite separate from general anxiety and given its own list of diagnostic criteria to help doctors identify it in patients. Perhaps its relatively recent appearance on the medical scene explains the lack of both public and professional awareness, as well as the dearth of literature available for the layperson. And in order to learn how to deal with panic attacks and take an active part in your own healing process, you do need information. So let’s start with some facts.

How Common Are Panic Attacks?

Panic attacks have been identified the world over. Many studies have been carried out to find out how many people actually experience them, and the results show that between one and two per cent of the population have panic attacks on a regular basis, i.e. at least four attacks in a four-week period.

Around 10 per cent of the population have intermittent panic attacks, and one extensive study in the USA revealed that a startling 35 per cent of people have had at least one panic attack - a staggering 87 million Americans.

Small wonder that D A Katerndahl at the University of Texas noted that ‘there is increasing evidence that panic disorder is a major health problem in the United States.’ And if these figures hold true for other countries this means that, for example, in the UK over 20 million people may have had at least one panic attack, and nearly 9 million in Australia.

Based on these figures, the chances are that every time you sit on a bus with twenty people, seven of them could have experienced a panic attack. Knowing this makes it understandable why panic disorder is noted as being the most common anxiety symptom for which people go to seek help. So you certainly need not feel alone in what you experience, and you can take comfort in knowing that many, many others are in the same position as yourself.

When Do They Begin and Who Has Them?

Most people have their first attack when they are adolescents or in their early twenties. Apparently it is rare for them to begin past the age of forty, although people can continue to experience them beyond that age. One study of children who were being seen for psychiatric help with specific problems revealed that a considerable number of them (26 per cent) also had panic attacks. The youngest were only four years old! So although attacks begin for most people between the ages of 15 and 40, even little children can have them.

In terms of differences between the sexes, some clinical trials appear to suggest that it is as common for men to experience them as women, but other studies suggest that more women than men have them. Many factors come into play as to when, why and to whom they occur. It’s a complex picture, but in general, it’s been suggested that people who panic tend to show a high degree of conformity: always doing what they’re told and what’s expected of them. But that really is only one element; there are many more to consider, some of which are discussed in other places on this site.

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