What Causes Mood Swings When Diagnosed With Panic Disorder?

Posted on Mon, 15 May 2017

Question: I suffer from panic disorder and panic attacks. However, I often feel completely out of control of my emotions, as in the smallest incident will set me off into an anxiety attack or the most minor mistake will make me aggressively angry, to the point of being physical at times. I often get physical urges to let go of the steering wheel while driving, or to jump off of a cliff when hiking, but I am not suicidal-I don't want to die. Most of the time I feel like my brain is in a fog; as if I can't think clearly or have to fight to do so. I have an appointment with a psychiatrist coming up but am wondering for myself if there is something more going on besides panic disorder. I had my first attack in 2007 when a close uncle died but didn't realize what it was, and my second one in 2013 just after my grandmother passed. The next one wasn't until 2016, and they have been happening semi-regularly since then.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhary (51 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It could be part of panic disorder

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.

I read your query and understand your concerns.

What you are describing it are obsessive thoughts and they do occur even with resistance from the individual. To some extent everyone of us had some or other obsessive symptoms and considered normal provided there is no dysfunction or distress associated with it.

Feeling out of control and extreme irritability are symptoms of anxiety spectrum disorders of which panic disorder is just one. It is possible that these symptoms are part of panic disorder itself or may indicate another anxiety disorder if the intensity is too high or they have impact on your functioning.

I hope this answers you.
If you have more questions feel free to write back to me.
Thanks and regards.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar