OverviewPanic disorder is characterized by repeated and unpredictable attacks of intense fear and anxiety. Agoraphobia, literally "fear of the marketplace", develops from a panic disorder in more than one-third of cases.
Review Date 3/26/2018
Updated by: Fred K. Berger, MD, addiction and forensic psychiatrist, Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.