Explosions into Fear ❧ 67Panic attacks aren’t fatal, but they probably feel worse than dying.
Some people may prefer death. There is a good deal of clinical speculation
about the relationship of panic disorder and suicide, but little definitive
research because it’s so difficult to accurately diagnose people after the act
of suicide. What did it, panic or depression? Or maybe they worked
together. After the fact, there’s no way of saying.
Suicide or not, panic disorder is nothing to mess around with. The
good news is that people in treatment, whether for panic or depression,
are far less likely to harm themselves. People in treatment who have sup-
portive friends and family are safest of all.
A common response to panic is to avoid any place or situation in which
an attack might occur, or help might not be available. As I mentioned in an
earlier chapter, agoraphobia is thought by most to mean fear of open
spaces. But there’s more to it than that. About a third of the people who
have panic disorder try to protect themselves by severely narrowing the
boundaries of their lives. Many don’t go out in crowds, or cross bridges,
stand in lines, or use public transportation.
To recover from panic disorder, people need to stop trying to protect
themselves. Running only makes things worse. The way to get rid of fear is to
embrace it. This is easy for me to say, but, as you can imagine, hard for them
to do. They will need help—from their doctors, therapists, and from you.
The most important thing you need to know is that no matter how
devastating they are, fear disorders are a hang-up, not a handicap. Accom-
modating them by standing between the people who have them and what
they fear does not help. What does help is the gut-level understanding that
though the pain may be real, the danger is not, and letting that central
insight determine actions. Your job is to abet and applaud the acts of
courage that this process entails.
Phobia
According to DSM- IV, phobia is:
- Marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable,
cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or
situation (e.g., flying, heights, animals, receiving an injection,
seeing blood).