Jill is a 25-year-old female who moved to New York from a smaller city several years ago. She is currently working for a company manufacturing sportswear. Being an HR specialist, she has to speak with many people, but she had difficulties with this task. She tried to avoid interviewing people and asked her colleague to complete the procedure because she could not do it. The colleague initiated a conversation as they became close friends.
Jill admitted that she had had panic attacks, at least, she thought the emotions she experienced were panic attacks. The young woman told her friend that during a day, she could get a sense of danger, start sweating heavily and shaking, feel shortness of breath and hot flashes, or even chest pain. She had several incidents during a year, so she did not want to interview people as she was afraid that they would see her experiencing such symptoms. During one conversation, she did feel the way she described, and could not finish it properly.
Jill did not know what could have been the reason for panic attacks as nothing bad had happened to her recently or in her childhood. Jill had a happy childhood with loving parents who supported her in her projects. She went to a good college and got the job she wanted. She could not understand what could be the trigger for the mental state mentioned above. Since it started interfering with her professional life, Jill decided to see a doctor. The healthcare professional decided that cognitive-behavior treatment would be optimal for Jill. During CBT sessions, Jill described an accident she was involved in, and it turned out to be related to her attacks.
During a sports game she played in the street, she was hit heavily. Although she did not fall or injured any part of her body, she recalls crying and having some of the symptoms she started experiencing. She also managed to identify the major triggers of her state, street noise, and the noise associated with accidents (for example, brake sound). Lately, she drank quite a lot of coffee and was nervous due to work overload.
Panic disorder (PD) is a common mental issue thousands of Americans develop. For instance, it has been estimated that a one-year prevalence for PD among American females aged between 18 and 64 is 7% (Locke, Kirst, & Shultz, 2015). When analyzing the causes, effects, and possible prevention and treatment methods, specialists often utilize cognitive or biological approaches. The biological approach implies the focus on genetics, anatomy, and physiology when addressing mental health issues (Feldman, 2018).
Regarding PD, there is evidence that prefrontal–cortical networks are responsible for inappropriate threat processing (Reinecke et al., 2015). In simple terms, it is believed that the structure of the brain may be the major cause of panic attacks and panic disorder. Jill’s brain can be characterized by hyperactive prefrontal–cortical networks that make the symptoms related to people’s fight or flight reactions rather exaggerated due to her emotional and mental load.
In terms of the cognitive approach, the focus is on the exact way information is processed. Researchers concentrate on the way the human brain interprets the information it receives (Feldman, 2018). In the case of PD, such external symptoms as several types of noises are regarded as an immediate threat that has to be responded to in particular ways. Whenever Jill hears certain sounds, her brain starts interpreting these signals as similar to the ones she experienced during the sports game incident. The situation is seen as potentially hazardous, which makes Jill’s body react accordingly.
It is noteworthy that these two approaches overlap in some aspects as it is possible to note that specific brain structures cause misinterpretation of data. Nevertheless, the focus of the two models is quite different, which may affect the development of a treatment plan. For Jill, it can be effective to continue cognitive-behavior treatment aimed at training the patient to control her emotions and physical states. Such physical training as yoga or similar practices can also be effective.
References
Feldman, R. (2018). Understanding psychology (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Locke, A. B., Kirst, N., & Shultz, C. G. (2015). Diagnosis and management of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults. American Family Physician, 91(9), 617-624.
Reinecke, A., Filippini, N., Berna, C., Western, D. G., Hanson, B., Cooper, M. J., … Harmer, C. J. (2015). Effective emotion regulation strategies improve fMRI and ECG markers of psychopathology in panic disorder: Implications for psychological treatment action. Translational Psychiatry, 5(11), 1-10. Web.