Panic is a sudden sensation of
fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent
reason and
logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
and frantic
agitation consistent with an animalistic
fight-or-flight
The fight-or-flight or the fight-flight-or-freeze response (also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. It was first des ...
reaction. Panic may occur singularly in individuals or manifest suddenly in large groups as
mass panic
Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria, or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...
(closely related to
herd behavior
Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, demonstrations, rio ...
).
Etymology
The word "panic" derives from antiquity and is a tribute to the ancient god
Pan. One of the many gods in the
mythology of ancient Greece, Pan was the god of shepherds and of woods and pastures. The Greeks believed that he often wandered peacefully through the woods, playing a pipe, but when accidentally awakened from his noontime nap he could give a great shout that would cause flocks to stampede. From this aspect of Pan's nature Greek authors derived the word ''panikos'', “sudden fear,” the ultimate source of the English word: "panic". The Greek term indicates the feeling of total fear that is also sudden and often attributed to the presence of a god.
Psychology
The
fight-or-flight
The fight-or-flight or the fight-flight-or-freeze response (also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. It was first des ...
response (among other names) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived
harmful event,
attack, or threat to survival. Animals react to threats with a general discharge of the
sympathetic nervous system, preparing the animal for fighting or fleeing. The
adrenal medulla
The adrenal medulla ( la, medulla glandulae suprarenalis) is part of the adrenal gland. It is located at the center of the gland, being surrounded by the adrenal cortex. It is the innermost part of the adrenal gland, consisting of chromaffin cel ...
produces a hormonal cascade that results in the secretion of
catecholamines
A catecholamine (; abbreviated CA) is a monoamine neurotransmitter, an organic compound that has a catechol (benzene with two hydroxyl side groups next to each other) and a side-chain amine.
Catechol can be either a free molecule or a subs ...
, especially
norepinephrine and
epinephrine
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
. The hormones
estrogen,
testosterone
Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristic ...
, and
cortisol
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones. When used as a medication, it is known as hydrocortisone.
It is produced in many animals, mainly by the ''zona fasciculata'' of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal gland ...
, as well as the neurotransmitters
dopamine and
serotonin, also affect how organisms react to stress. The hormone
osteocalcin
Osteocalcin, also known as bone gamma-carboxyglutamic acid-containing protein (BGLAP), is a small (49-amino-acid) noncollagenous protein hormone found in bone and dentin, first identified as a calcium-binding protein.
Because osteocalcin has g ...
might also play a part.
General adaptation syndrome
Stress, either physiological, biological or psychological, is an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition. Stress is the body's method of reacting to a condition such as a threat, challenge or physical and psycholog ...
regulates
stress responses among
vertebrates
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...
and other
organisms involves the fight-or-flight response as it first stage.
A
panic attack is a sudden period of intense
fear and discomfort that may include
palpitations
Palpitations are perceived abnormalities of the heartbeat characterized by awareness of cardiac muscle contractions in the chest, which is further characterized by the hard, fast and/or irregular beatings of the heart.
Symptoms include a rapi ...
, sweating,
chest pain
Chest pain is pain or discomfort in the chest, typically the front of the chest. It may be described as sharp, dull, pressure, heaviness or squeezing. Associated symptoms may include pain in the shoulder, arm, upper abdomen, or jaw, along with n ...
, shaking,
shortness of breath,
numbness, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing control. Typically, symptoms reach a peak within ten minutes of onset, and last for roughly 30 minutes, but the duration can vary from seconds to hours. Though distressing, panic attacks themselves are not physically dangerous. They can either be triggered or occur unexpectedly.
In psychology, there is an identified condition called
panic disorder
Panic disorder is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, sho ...
that has been described as a specific psychological vulnerability of people to interpret normal physical sensations in a catastrophic way. It is related strongly to biological and psychological factors and their interactions. Leonard J. Schmidt and Brooke Warner describe panic as “that terrible, profound emotion that stretches us beyond our ability to imagine any experience more horrible” adding that “physicians like to compare painful clinical conditions on some imagined ‘Richter scale’ of vicious, mean hurt … to the psychiatrist there is no more vicious, mean hurt than an exploding and personally disintegrating panic attack.”
Panic attacks can occur due to several other disorders including
social anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some aspects ...
,
post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
,
substance use disorder,
depression, and medical problems.
Panic in social psychology is considered infectious since it can spread to a multitude of people and those affected are expected to act irrationally as a consequence. Psychologists identify different types of this panic event with slightly varying descriptions, which include
mass panic, mass hysteria,
mass psychosis, and
social contagion
Social contagion involves behaviour, emotions, or conditions spreading spontaneously through a group or network. The phenomenon has been discussed by social scientists since the late 19th century, although much work on the subject was based on un ...
.
An influential theoretical treatment of panic is found in
Neil J. Smelser's ''Theory of Collective Behavior''. The science of panic management has found important practical applications in the armed forces and emergency services of the world.
Effects
Prehistoric humans used mass panic as a technique when hunting animals, especially
ruminants.
Herd
A herd is a social group of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with this is called ''herding''. These animals are known as gregarious animals.
The term ''herd'' i ...
s reacting to unusually strong sounds or unfamiliar visual effects were directed towards
cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...
s, where they eventually jumped to their deaths when cornered.
Humans are also vulnerable to panic and it is often considered infectious, in the sense one person's panic may easily spread to other people nearby and soon the entire group acts
irrationally, but people also have the ability to prevent and/or control their own and others' panic by disciplined thinking or training (such as disaster drills).
Architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
s and
city planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...
s try to accommodate for the
symptoms of panic, such as
herd behavior
Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, demonstrations, rio ...
, during
design and
planning, often using
simulations to determine the best way to lead people to a safe exit and prevent congestion (
Crowd collapses and crushes
Crowd collapses and crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When a body of people reaches or exceeds the density of , the pressure on each individual can cause the crowd to collapse ...
). The most effective methods are often non-intuitive. A tall column or columns, placed in front of the door exit at a precisely calculated distance, may speed up the evacuation of a large room, as the obstacle divides the congestion well ahead of the choke point.
Many highly publicized cases of deadly panic occurred during massive public events. The layout of
Mecca was extensively redesigned by
Saudi authorities in an attempt to eliminate frequent crushes, which kill an average of 250
pilgrims every year.
Football stadiums have seen deadly crowd rushes and stampedes, such as at
Heysel stadium in
Belgium in 1985 with more than 600 casualties, including 39 deaths, at
Hillsborough stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is a 39,732-capacity association football stadium located in Owlerton, a north-western suburb of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. It has been the home of Sheffield Wednesday since its opening in 1899.
The ground has been su ...
in
Sheffield,
England, in 1989 when 96 people were killed in a crush, and at
Kanjuruhan Stadium
Kanjuruhan Stadium (Indonesian: ''Stadion Kanjuruhan'') was a multi-purpose stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. It was used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 42,449. It was the home ground of Arema, a football team in ...
in
Indonesia, in 2022 when 135 people were killed in a crush.
See also
References
External links
Panic! How it works and What To Do About It— by
Bruce Tognazzini.
*"Panic: Myth or Reality?" — Professor Lee Clarke
Contexts Magazine 2002. (Article available a
PDF from Lee Clarke's website)
{{Authority control
Fear
Emotions