The sequence of panic symptoms.

For phenomenological elucidation of panic attacks, 26 patients with panic attacks were requested to name the panic symptoms in order of their occurrence and specify the patterns of their abatement. Panic symptoms were found to be classifiable into three categories: early symptoms consisting of dizziness or faintness, palpitations, and sweating; intermediate symptoms dyspnea, nausea or abdominal distress, flush or chills, chest pain or discomfort, shaking, and choking; late symptoms paresthesias, fear of dying, and fear of going crazy. Panic symptoms disappeared in 61.6% irrespective of the sequence of their occurrence. Twenty-one patients were interviewed about the experience of nocturnal panic attacks, and 23.8% experienced them. These findings suggest that fear is caused by sudden physical abnormality triggered by some biological factors.