ABSTRACT
The separation of panic disorder from GAD in DSM-III was not without controversy for, following the tradition of Freud, many psychiatrists regarded panic attacks to be an index of severity of anxiety rather than a separate entity. For example, Marks wrote: ‘the DSM-III-R elevated panic into an organising principle, yet it is no more diagnostic than the presence of anxiety’.124 Furthermore, it was argued that the symptoms of panic are common to nearly all anxiety disorders as well as occurring in major depression. In addition, it has been found that a third of young adults had experienced panic in the preceding year, particularly those who experience high trait anxiety. Thus Tyrer commented: ‘panic is a common station along the track to other neurotic destinations’.125
