Read the passage below and answer the questions as instructed:-
Driving back home Shriya experienced increased heart beat, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, palpitations and she started having a feeling of discomfort. She was so scared that she stopped the car and sat on the pavement. In the next few months, frequency of these attacks increased, and the fear of being caught in the traffic was so high that she stopped driving. She felt that she was going crazy and losing control on herself.
Identify the disorder that Shriya is suffering from?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Panic Disorder
Option (1) Schizophrenia — Incorrect. Schizophrenia is a disorder of disturbed thought, perception and behaviour, with delusions and hallucinations. Shriya’s symptoms are bodily signs of fear, and she sees her situation as it is.
Option (2) Generalized Anxiety Disorder — Incorrect. It consists of prolonged, vague fears not attached to any particular object, with constant worry and tension. Shriya’s fear comes in sudden, intense attacks.
Option (3) Separation Anxiety Disorder — Incorrect. Here the person is fearful about separation from attachment figures, as a child who cannot stay in a room alone. Nothing in the case concerns separation from anyone.
Option (4) Panic Disorder — Correct. Panic disorder consists of recurrent anxiety attacks; a panic attack is an abrupt surge of intense anxiety rising to a peak. Its clinical features are shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, chest discomfort and a fear of going crazy or losing control, each of which appears in Shriya’s case.
NCERT (2025-26): “Anxiety Disorders … They include generalised anxiety disorder, which consists of prolonged, vague, unexplained and intense fears that are not attached to any particular object. The symptoms include worry and apprehensive feelings about the future; hypervigilance, which involves constantly scanning the environment for dangers. It is marked by motor tension, as a result of which the person is unable to relax, is restless, and visibly shaky and tense. Another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder, which consists of recurrent anxiety attacks in which the person experiences intense terror. A panic attack denotes an abrupt surge of intense anxiety rising to a peak when thoughts of a particular stimuli are present. Such thoughts occur in an unpredictable manner. The clinical features include shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, choking, nausea, chest pain or discomfort, fear of going crazy, losing control or dying.…” “Anxiety Disorders … Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is another type of anxiety disorder. Individuals with separation anxiety disorder are fearful and anxious about separation from attachment figures to an extent that is developmentally not appropriate.…” |