Am I Experiencing Panic Attacks?

Panic attacks are experienced by nearly 1 out of every 4 people at some point in their life (Kessler, Chiu, Jin, et al, 2006) but like many anxiety disorders, they are under-diagnosed and often go unrecognized (Kasper, 2006). 

The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for a panic attack include:

• An abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes, and during which time 4 (or more) of the following symptoms occur:
  • Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
  • Sweating
  • Trembling or shaking
  • Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
  • Feelings of choking
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Nausea or abdominal distress
  • Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed, or faint
  • Chills or heat sensations
  • Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
  • Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from one-self)
  • Fear of losing control or “going crazy”
  • Fear of dying

The ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for panic attacks include: 

• A discrete episode of intense fear or apprehension characterized by the rapid and concurrent onset of several characteristic symptoms:
  • Palpitations, pounding heart, or an accelerated heart rate
  • Sweating
  • Trembling
  • Sensations of shortness of breath
  • Feelings of choking
  • Chest pain
  • Nausea or abdominal distress (e.g., churning in stomach)
  • Feelings of dizziness or light-headedness
  • Chills or hot flushes
  • Tingling or lack of sensation in extremities
  • Depersonalization or derealization
  • Fear of losing control or going mad
  • Fear of imminent death

Am I Experiencing Panic Attacks? is an indicative screening tool, designed to help clients self-assess whether their experiences might warrant further investigation. It is not intended to give a formal diagnosis or provide a measure of severity.

"Some people who describe symptoms like yours suffer from panic attacks. Would you like to try a short quiz that could give us an idea whether this is a problem that troubles you?"

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
• Kasper, S. (2006). Anxiety disorders: under-diagnosed and insufficiently treated. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 10(sup1), 3-9.
• Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Jin, R., Ruscio, A. M., Shear, K., & Walters, E. E. (2006). The epidemiology of panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of general psychiatry, 63(4), 415-424.
• Stansfeld, S., Clark, C., Bebbington, P., King, M., Jenkins, R., & Hinchliffe, S. (2016). Chapter 2: Common mental disorders. In S. McManus, P. Bebbington, R. Jenkins, & T. Brugha (Eds.), Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital. 
• World Health Organization. (2019). ICD-11: International classification of diseases (11th revision). Retrieved from https://icd.who.int/