Stay Calm: Managing Panic in a Fast-Paced World

World Panic Day is an initiative aimed at increasing awareness about panic disorders. It serves as a day to provide education on the signs and symptoms, offer resources and support to those affected, and challenge the societal stigma surrounding mental health disorders. It is a day to sit back, relax and try to let some of that stress and panic melt away. People with panic disorder have frequent and unexpected panic attacks. These attacks are charac-

- VINOD CHANDRASHEKHAR DIXIT

terized by a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing control even when there is no clear danger or trigger. Panic disorder often begins in the late teens or early adulthood. Women are more likely than men to develop panic disorder. Panic disorder sometimes runs in families, but no one knows for sure why some family members have it while others don’t. According to researchers several parts of the brain and certain biological processes may play a crucial role in fear and anxiety.