| Cross-cultural research suggests that panic occurs worldwide; however, the phenomenon appears to be culturally based. Physiological symptoms are universal, but it is the cultural manifestation of the fear that differs. For example, in remote areas of China, panic revolves around the fear that one's sexual organs are retracting into one's body. In Western culture, panic focuses more on the fear of dying, or that one is having a heart attack, or losing control. In the United States, the cognitive-behavioral psychological orientation is regarded as the most helpful therapeutic approach for the treatment of panic disorder. By design, it targets symptoms of the body (reducing physiological arousal) and the mind (disputing cognitive distortions). Cross-cultural research indicates that a body-mind therapy approach is very common worldwide. A body-only approach (as with allopathic medicine) and a mind-only approach (traditional analytical psychology) make a holistic approach more difficult to conceptualize. Because panic disorder calls for a body-mind treatment approach, with its physiological as well as cognitive symptoms, a more holistic approach appears to grasp the disorder more inclusively. New research in psychoneuroimmunology, the positive use of the placebo effect, and the role of the practitioner provide new indications for future research in the treatment of panic disorder. Three traditional, holistic healing approaches are worthy of attention: (1) Ayurvedic psychology/ medicine, focusing on the constitutional make-up of people prone to panic and the treatments of lifestyle changes, homeopathy, and meditation; (2) traditional Chinese medicine, focusing on acupuncture, acupressure, and herbs; and (3) naturopathic medicine, focusing on nutrition and homeopathy. Each of these approaches has varying clusters of symptoms, with different underlying assumptions, mode of classification, method of diagnosis, therapeutic treatments, and standards for validity and reliability. Many case examples exist in the literature related to panic disorder, but no controlled studies that match the strict Western psychological design (even though many approaches have been around for thousands of years). An expanded model for a more holistic conceptualization of panic disorder is presented that suggests future research and further cross-fertilization and synthesis of approaches. |
