The medical history (history of illness) represents an important component in the diagnosis of panic disorder.
Family history
- Are there frequent mental health problems in your family?
Social history
- Is there any evidence of psychosocial stress or strain due to your family situation?
- Do you live alone?
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints) (modified according to).
- A1: Have you ever had an anxiety attack in which you were very suddenly overcome by intense fear, trepidation, or restlessness?
- A2: Have you ever felt anxious, tense, and full of fearful apprehension for a month or more?
- A3: Have you ever suffered from unfounded fears about using public transportation, going to stores, or being in public places?
- A4: Have you ever had unfounded fears about talking to others, doing something in the presence of others, or being the center of attention?
- A5: Have you ever experienced an unusually horrible or threatening event, the aftermath of which you suffered from for months?
- A6: Has there ever been a period of time when you suffered from an unfounded fear of particular situations, objects, or animals?
- A7: Have you ever suffered from thoughts that were nonsensical and kept coming even when you didn’t mean to?
- A8: Was there ever a time in your life when you drank five or more glasses of alcohol a day?
- A9: Have you ever taken stimulants, sedatives, sleeping pills, or painkillers without a doctor’s prescription or in higher doses?
- A10: Have you taken any drugs such as hashish, ecstasy, cocaine, or heroin more than once in your life?
- What other complaints have you noticed?
- How long have you had the complaints?
- In what frequency do they occur?
- Were/are there any or further triggers for the anxiety?
- What do you do to manage the anxiety?
- Do you feel your quality of life is limited?
- Have you thought about suicide lately?*
Vegetative anamnesis incl. nutritional anamnesis.
Self anamnesis incl. medication anamnesis
- Pre-existing conditions
- Operations
- Allergies
- Medication history
* If this question has been answered with “Yes”, an immediate visit to the doctor is required! (Data without guarantee) Panic disorder is a well-defined episode of intense anxiety, with at least four of the following criteria. The diagnostic criteria for panic disorder include (according to the American Psychiatric Association):
- Heart stuttering, palpitations, or rapid pulse.
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Shortness of breath/breathlessness
- Feeling of suffocation
- Chest pain or feeling of tightness (chest tightness)
- Nausea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Dizziness, lightheadedness
- Derealization, depersonalization
- Fear of loss of control or “going crazy”.
- Fear of death
- Abnormal sensations such as tingling or numbness
- Hot flashes / cold shivers