Panic disorder: sudden feeling of peril
gettyimagesbankBy Bahk Eun-jiChloe Yang, 45, a college lecturer in Seoul, said she remembers her first panic attack a few months ago vividly. She was on her way to the parking lot after class when her daughter called asking her which food they were going to cook for dinner. Just like an ordinary mom and teenage daughter, for 5 minutes they debated about what they would eat for dinner. “Immediately after hanging up, my heart started pounding so fast and I felt like I was suffocating. All of a sudden, every noise on the street just rang in my ear so loudly,” Yang said. After the attack, the underground parking lot of the college building she came in and out of every day, become terrifying, she said.“I don't even remember how long I was sitting in the back seat of my car on the day.”Doctors define a panic attack as an episode of intense fear that comes suddenly but in the absence of real danger. People may have one or two panic attacks in their lifetimes, but the problems vanish when the stressful situation ends. But if the panic attack recurs, unexpectedly, and
Jan 5, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji