Aside from the three inevitables of life, birth, sickness and death, you can also include stress to the list of unavoidables that seem to lengthen with time. Believe it or not, stress is a component of the normal bodily response to motivate people into action. It executes a positive and protective function. Having said that, because of individual differences owing to the trillions of A, T, G and C combinations of nucleotide bases, in other words, the genetic makeup, people see stress differently. For that matter, people react to stressors differently. For example, speaking before a large group is stimulating and enjoyable to politicians, but for a person who hasn't talked in front of that many people, this can bring a feeling of apprehension as he or she waits for the turn to speak. Both may feel a certain level of stress. However, for the former, the stress can increase bodily functions to help prepare him or her for the event and for the latter, the stress can blow out of proportion to cause him or her to give up the activity completely.

Panic disorder works similarly with the latter scenario. Stress can become uncontrollable to the point of causing a series of panic attacks. To define terms, panic attacks refer to the abrupt onset of intense terror from feelings of impending doom. Panic disorder, on the other hand, is an escalated form of panic attack which lasts from five to thirty minutes and may fluctuate in intensity within this period. However, some have reported episodes as short as one minute and as long as a month. The disorder becomes severe when the panic disorder symptoms prompt a person to seek treatment from emergency rooms at the hospital. In reality, fatality rates for panic disorder sufferers are twenty percent higher than the general population. In addition to that, a high number of people with disorder commit suicide. The disease can affect the quality of life of people seriously if they constantly worry about negative thoughts or having to experience the attack again.

Among the common panic disorder symptoms involve palpitations (irregular, rapid, hard heartbeats), perspirations, dizziness, dyspnea (difficulty of breathing), uncontrollable fear, choking or smothering sensation, hyperventilation (fast breathing), chest pain, nausea, paresthesias (tingling sensation), chills or hot flashes, and many others. These symptoms result from the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system and are exaggerated reactions of the body to perceived stressors, which may not be real at times. Once the stressor has disappeared, the effects of the sympathetic nervous system will usually be reversed. Having said that, in the case of the disorder, due to the maladaptive coping mechanism to stress, symptoms remain until they bring harm to the person.

With the right attitude and support of family and friends, the panic disorder symptoms can become controllable. A mix of both cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy are the most effective treatment. Taking on a positive attitude would motivate a person to overcome the disorder and get rid of trembling uncontrollably in anxiety.