人为什么有恐怖症?

Panic and Its EffectsOne afternoon while she was preparing dinner in her kitchen, Anne Peters, a 32-year-old American housewife, suddenly had severe pains in her chest accompanied by shortness of breath. Frightened by the thought that she was having a heart attack, Anne screamed for help. Her husband immediately rushed Anne to a nearby hospital where her pains were diagnosed¹ as having been caused by panic, and not a heart attack.

More and more Americans nowadays are having panic attacks like the one experienced by Anne Peters. Benjamin Crocker, a psychologist at the University of Southern California, reveal that as many as ten million adult Americans have already experienced or will experience at least one panic attack in their lifetime. Moreover, studies conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States disclose² that approximately 1.2 million adult individuals are currently³ suffering from severe and recurrent panic attacks.

These attacks may last for only a few minutes; some, however, continue for several hours. The symptoms of panic attacks bear such remarkable⁴ similarity to those of heart attacks that many victims believe that they are indeed having a heart attack.

Panic attack victims show the following symptoms: they often become easily frightened or feel uneasy⁵ in situations where people normally would not be afraid; they suffer shortness of breath, experience chest pains, a quick heartbeat, sudden fits of trembling, a feeling that persons and things around them are not real; and most of all, a fear of dying or going crazy. A person seized by a panic attack may show all or as few as four of these symptoms.

There has been a lot of explanations as to the causes of panic attacks. Many claim that psychological stress could be a logical cause, but as yet, no evidence has been found to support this theory. However, studies show that more women than men experience panic attacks and people who drink a lot as well as those who use drugs are more likely to suffer attacks.

It is reported that there are at least three signs that indicate a person is suffering from a panic attack rather than a heart attack. The first is age. People between the ages of 20 and 30 are more often victims of panic attacks. The second is sex. More women suffer from recurrent panic attacks than men. The third is the multiplicity of symptoms. A panic attack victim usually suffers at least four of the previously⁶ mentioned symptoms, while a heart attack victim often experiences only pain and shortness of breath.

It is generally agreed that a panic attack does not directly endanger a person's life. All the same, it can unnecessarily disrupt⁷ a person's life by making him or her so afraid of having a panic attack in a public place that he or she may refuse to leave home and may eventually become isolated⁸ form the rest of society. Dr. Crocker's advice to any person who thinks he is suffering from a panic attack is to consult a doctor for a medical examination to rule out the possibilities of physical illness first. Once it has been confirmed that he or she is, in fact, suffering from a panic attack, the victim should seek psychological and medical help.

 

1 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

2 disclose   

vt.揭露，泄露，透露

参考例句：

• Science can disclose the mysteries of nature.科学能解开自然界的奥秘。
• Neither side would disclose details of the transaction.双方均不肯披露交易细节。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 uneasy   

adj.心神不安的，担心的，令人不安的

参考例句：

• He feels uneasy today.他今天心里感到不安。
• She had an uneasy feeling that they were still following her.她有一种他们仍在跟踪她的不安感觉。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 disrupt   

adj.分裂的，分散的；vt.使分裂，使瓦解

参考例句：

• The war seemed likely to disrupt the state.战争可能使这个国家分裂。
• The conflict seemed likely to disrupt the government.这场冲突可能使政府垮台。

8 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。