Abstract

MONTIEL, José Maria; CAPOVILLA, Alessandra Gotuzo Seabra; BERBERIAN, Arthur de Almeida  and  CAPOVILLA, Fernando César. Incidence of depressive symptoms in panic disorder. Psic [online]. 2005, vol.6, n.2, pp. 33-42. ISSN 1676-7314.

The emotional state of anxiety has psychological and physiological components, characterized by anticipatory feelings, fear and apprehension associated with autonomic arousal and reactivity. Despite the depressive symptoms may be present in a secondary and lesser degree, they are characterized by affective manifestations with inadequacy in terms of intensity and/or frequency. Panic disorder is a particular type of anxiety disorder manifested by recurrent and unexpected panic episodes, which tend to be followed by at least one month of persistent preoccupation with respect to the possibility of having a new panic episode and its consequences. This study assessed the presence of depressive symptoms in twenty panic disorder patients, and the correlation between symptom frequency and anxiety level. Results revealed significant depression in 76% of the participants, and a significant positive correlation between Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety Inventories, thus suggesting that, in panic disorder, the higher the anxiety level, the bigger the depression level.

Keywords : Psychological assessment; Anxiety disorder; Depression.

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