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Article: Hypochondria? Or Panic Disorder?
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 20, 1989
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Karlyn Barker's report "Hypochondria: It's No Joke" {Cover story,
June 6} was thoughtful, balanced and sympathetic. Recent research
shows that a highly treatable disorder, often assumed to be
hypochondria, is underdiagnosed and undertreated.
This is panic disorder, a syndrome in which the body's alarm
system-the autonomic nervous system-goes into action with little or
no obvious cause. A bewildering array of physical symptoms erupt
that mimic those of cardiac disease (such as heart attack or
arrythmia), neurological problems (such as stroke or multiple
sclerosis) or gut syndromes (such as ulcer or enteritis). Patients
have bursts of overwhelming anxiety-panic attacks-in the context of ...