A cognitive approach to panic

A cognitive model of panic is described. Within this model panic attacks are said to result from the catastrophic misinterpretation of certain bodily sensations. The sensations which are misinterpreted are mainly those involved in normal anxiety responses (e.g. palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness etc.) but also include some other sensations. The catastrophic misinterpretation involves perceiving these sensations as much more dangerous than they really are (e.g. perceiving palpitations as evidence of an impending heart attack). A review of the literature indicates that the proposed model is consistent with the major features of panic. In particular, it is consistent with the nature of the cognitive disturbance in panic patients, the perceived sequence of events in an attack, the occurrence of ‘spontaneous’ attacks, the role of hyperventilation in attacks, the effects of sodium lactate and the literature on psychological and pharmacological treatments. Finally, a series of direct tests of the model are proposed.