WASHINGTON, D.C.--For many of the millions of Americans with panic disorder, the prospect of taking a summer vacation can be terrifying. And while experts predict a record-breaking travel season, with Americans taking 230 million trips of 100 miles or more, people with panic disorder may have difficulty traveling even a few miles from home this summer.

Whether it's going on a plane trip across country or just down the road to a friend's barbecue, people with panic disorder can have great difficulty traveling because they're afraid they will have a panic attack," said Dr. Una McCann, chief of the Unit on Anxiety and Affective Disorders at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a component of the National Institutes of Health.

People with panic disorder experience repeated panic attacks, brief and unexpected episodes of extreme terror that can include symptoms of chest pain, racing heartbeat, difficulty breathing, dizziness, nausea and a fear of dying. "Without treatment, they may begin to avoid all kinds of places where they have had a panic attack like walking in the park, driving across a bridge or flying in an airplane," she said. "Eventually their world becomes smaller and smaller. But the good news is that effective treatment is available and can be tremendously helpful to people who suffer from this disorder."

Newspaper copy editor Chuck Jackson struggled with panic attacks and avoided traveling for years. "I would rarely go beyond the twelve-mile trip between my home and office. I was afraid I'd be living this way all my life. Finally, I got effective treatment--medications and therapy. Now I'm free to go wherever I want, and my family and I are looking forward to our vacation this summer."

According to Elaine Baldwin, director of the NIMH Panic Disorder Education Program, scientists have found that medication and a form of psychotherapy called cognitive-behavioral therapy can reduce or eliminate panic attacks in 70 to 90 percent of people with panic disorder. "However, because symptoms often mimic those of other illnesses, people with panic disorder may visit up to ten physicians before being properly diagnosed and treated," Baldwin said. NIMH developed the Panic Disorder Education Program to raise awareness about this serious illness and encourage people to get effective treatment.

Without treatment, panic disorder can be extremely debilitating to a person's social, work and family relationships. In addition, about 30 percent of people with panic disorder turn to alcohol and 17 percent to drugs in vain attempts to alleviate the symptoms, and 50 percent will experience clinical depression. Studies also show that 20 percent of people with panic disorder will attempt suicide at some point in their lives.

The condition typically strikes in young adulthood (with the median age of onset occurring at 24 years), and is likely to affect women twice as often as men.--an NIH HEALTHWise report, July 1997

For free information about panic disorder, call
1-800-64-PANIC or write:
National Institute of Mental Health
Attn: HEALTHWise
Panic Disorder Education Program, Rm. 7C-02
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857

For help in contacting panic disorder patients and experts locally for interviews, editors may call:
Shawn Sandor
Phone: 202-973-5874