Panic Disorder - is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring panic attacks and anxiety that may lead to more and escalated panic attacks. Panic attacks can come out-of-the-blue and can even occur during sleep. It is often mistaken for a life-threatening illness and children can be taken to a hospital, where numerous medical tests are performed and no serious condition is found.

Children with panic disorder can experience one or more episodes of extreme anxiety that can last minutes until the point of medical intervention.

Common symptoms include rapid heartbeat, dizziness due to rapid breathing, breathlessness, uncontrollable trembling, feeling of choking, tingling in hands, chest, stomach and throat and even muscle spasms in hands and other parts of the body.

A statement from a person who experienced a panic attack:

“My heart was pounding, it was hard to breathe. I felt like I was going to die. I felt like I had to get out of there NOW!”

Another statement says:

”I was on a train to school and suddenly for no obvious reason my heart started racing, I couldn’t breathe and my hands and mouth started tingling. I felt like I was going to faint and I felt very anxious. I was convinced something serious was wrong with me and I needed urgent medical attention. At the same time I felt embarrassed and didn’t want people around me to notice my panic.”

Normal anxiety is different from a panic disorder in children. Normal anxiety could be described as feeling anxious when you hear you need to have a tooth taken out or you are just about to have a vaccination. Panic attacks are sudden attacks of panic and anxiety, when you feel as if you were going to lose control of yourself and start screaming.

Take a look at the Panic Away and The Linden Method Programs which are both designed to help with Panic Attacks in adults and children.

The cause of panic disorder is unknown, however research shows that in most cases it is a combination of a children’s biology or genes, personality and environmental factors.

Panic disorder can be controlled and successfully treated. Treatment of panic attacks has been shown to reduce costs of medical care by 94%. Treatment of Panic Disorder involves Cognitive Behavioural Treatment. It is is an effective method of learning to control and overcome panic attacks, identifying triggers of panic attacks and learning how to deal with them. Several stimulants can trigger panic attacks - caffeine, alcohol, nicotine or psychoactive drugs and therefore avoiding them can help with keeping attacks under control.

Medication can be also used in treatment of panic disorder; however symptoms of panic are often resistant to pharmacological interventions. Cognitive Behavioural Treatment and a tested form of psychodynamic psychotherapy have been shown efficacious in treatment of panic attacks.

The goal is for a child to recognize and change anxious thoughts. An InterceptiveTherapy is a technique, which stimulates the symptoms of panic allowing children to experience them in a controlled environment.

Symptom inductions generally occur for one minute and include:

• Intentional Hyperventilation - creates light-headedness, dizziness
• Breathing through a straw - creates feeling of breathlessness or choking
• Running on a spot - increases heart rate, rate of breathing and perspiration
• Tensing parts of the body - creates tense feeling

There are other effective forms of psychotherapy, which can be used. Remember that there is no single “right” treatment. What works for one individual may not work for another. You should consult your doctor to select the best treatment option for your child.