Article: PANIC ATTACKS SHATTER SECURITY; THEY GRIP MILLIONS OF AMERICANS.(L.A. LIFE)(Statistical Data Included)

Byline: Kathryn McKenzie Nichols Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

Its sufferers describe a crushing weight on their chests, dizziness and blurred vision, their hearts beating so hard it seems they will burst wide open. They are convinced they're going to die.

Some go to the emergency room, believing they're having a heart attack. Some just withdraw from the world. Still others turn to drugs or alcohol to cope.

``It's like a storm, or a tidal wave,'' said Karuna Licht, a marriage and family counselor in Monterey. ``It hits you from behind.''

Panic disorders may not have a physical cause, but they're very real to the estimated 24 million ...

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