CHAPTER  5

Panic, Anxiety, and Their Disorders

Chapter 5 presents a detailed description of the clinical picture, causal pattern, and treatment of the anxiety disorders, each of which is characterized by an unrealistic irrational fear or anxiety of a disabling intensity. Following a general overview of the response patterns of fear and anxiety, the chapter continues with a discussion of the phobic disorders, which includes specific phobias and social phobias. Next is a review of the latest research on panic disorder, both with and without agoraphobia, followed by a discussion of generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder - another anxiety disorder - was covered in the preceding chapter rather than this one, because it is largely a prolonged reaction to traumatic stressors. There is also a strong emphasis on the role of unpredictability and uncontrollability in the anxiety disorders. The chapter closes with a discussion of sociocultural causal factors as well as important treatment and outcome issues.

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