In the break room tonight, the topic of my panic disorder came up and instead of brushing it off, I talked very openly about it. Turns out most people don’t know much about panic disorder and people actually had a ton of questions. so, here’s a thread all about #panicdisorder! /1

Having a panic attack once or twice every now and then does NOT constitute panic disorder. Attacks have to occur at a certain intensity and frequency to have the disorder. Attacks are characterized by a list of physical symptoms that can’t otherwise be medically explained. /2

Attacks have little to do with your thoughts and much more to do with your body. Personally, my first sign of an attack is always losing feeling in my left arm, followed by shivering, sweating, tremors, and nausea. These are pretty standard symptoms, along with many others /3

Attacks are sudden and spontaneous. Mine are almost always at night, often when I’m sleeping. I can be laying down watching TV and have an attack. It’s all random.

Asking someone with panic disorder why they had an attack is like asking an epileptic why they had a seizure. /4

Attacks aren’t the result of “being anxious.” They aren’t “anxiety attacks.”

They’re medical events that come out of nowhere, like seizures, and pretty much can only be broken with meds. Just like an epipen, I keep my rescue meds on me at all times. /5

Panic disorder is SO widely misunderstood. It’s a terrible, debilitating disease. This disorder has taken so much from me, and most people around me don’t even understand it. The least do is educate people and talk openly about it.

#medtwitter
#psychtwitter
#psychiatry