Panic Attacks or Panic Disorder

What is panic disorder?

affects up to 2% of teens
most often adolescent onset
characterized by a sudden rush of intense fear or discomfort
children and teens with a family history of anxiety or depression are at greater risk for developing panic disorder
associated with low self esteem, poor school performance, problems with peer and family relationship, sleep problems, and depression
moderate or severe when it leads to significant functional disruption and a reduced quality of life

What does it look like in the classroom?

The following are ideas of what behaviours you might see from a student experiencing issues with panic. If you are concerned you need to share your concern of the behaviour (and not a diagnosis!) with the school mental health team or the child's parents.

poor school attendance such as skipping school
avoidance of going places where panic attack has happened before
attempts to stay in constant contact with a person they feel 'safe' with (including text, phone call)
experiences emotions such as fear, terror, anger, embarrassment, shame
avoidance of any activity that activates the body - exercise, drinking caffeine, performance based activities
may describe physical feelings of
fear of 'losing control'

Classroom Strategies Specific to Panic Disorder

keep communications open with student
provide a safe place and a cue system in which the student can signal the teacher that a panic attack might be coming on
encourage class-wide use of calming strategies
encourage students to exercise regularly

Academic Supports

Adjust deadlines, and student work output if necessary

KidsHealth.org

Note:

Panic attacks are fairly common, and having one does not mean that the student has panic disorder. Panic attacks become a problem when the youth worries about having more attacks, or fears something bad will happen because of a panic attack. Also, panic attacks can occur in other anxiety disorders. For example, students with a phobia of dogs might have a panic attack when they are near a dog. In this case, however, the panic attack is expected, and the student is afraid of the dog, not the panic attack. In panic disorder, the panic attacks are unexpected or there is no clear reason for the panic attack to have occurred.

https://www.anxietybc.com/educators/panic-disorder-and-agoraphobia

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